858 Wilson.—Plant Distribution in Woods . 
woods which, like those examined in the present investigation, occur on the 
Cretaceous and Eocene formations. 
All the above communications deal with high forest, and, as far as can 
be ascertained, no papers have yet appeared describing the flora of coppiced 
areas and the changes consequent on the periodic felling which takes place 
in this type of woodland. 
The woods on which the greater part of the investigations have been 
made occur in the neighbourhood of Faversham in North-East Kent. This 
district is especially suitable for an investigation of this kind on account of 
the great differences in composition of soils which are found in close proxi¬ 
mity and in a comparatively small area. This part of Kent is included in 
maps Nos. 273 and 289 of the Ordnance Survey on the scale of one inch to 
one mile, and in Sheet 3 of the Geological Survey on the same scale. 
Additional observations have also been made on woods in the neighbourhood 
of Swanley in North-West Kent. This latter district is included in Map 271 
of the Ordnance Survey, and Sheet 6 of the Geological Survey, both maps 
being on the scale of one inch to one mile. 
The general underlying formation of the whole area under consideration 
is the Upper Chalk, but this is covered to a great extent by beds of clays 
and gravels, and by outliers of the Lower Eocene formations. In the 
Faversham district there is a gradual increase in altitude towards the 
south until the escarpment of the Chalk is reached about 10 miles distant; 
towards the north the area is limited by the Thames Estuary. The surface 
of the Chalk is deeply indented by numerous dry valleys which run down 
the dip slope towards the north. The bottoms of these valleys are generally 
occupied by river deposits, but on the sloping sides the Chalk is only covered 
by a thin layer of soil. One of these valleys is indicated on the lower left- 
hand side of the map shown in Text-fig. 1 ; its course can be traced by the 
deposit of alluvial material found along its bottom. On the ridges a deposit 
of stiff reddish clay is found, known as the ‘ Clay with Flints ’ on account of 
the numerous unworn flints occurring in it. Passing to the north towards 
the Thames Estuary the Clay with Flints gradually disappears, and is 
partially replaced by a deposit described as ‘ Loam on the Chalk ’ by the 
Geological Survey. The latter, in many places, is covered by deposits of 
brick-earth. Finally, in the close neighbourhood of the estuary, there is 
a comparatively deep layer of alluvium covering the earlier deposits (see 
Text-fig. 1). 
In the immediate neighbourhood of Faversham the Tertiary (Lower 
Eocene) formations are only represented by small outliers, but farther to the 
cast there is an Eocene deposit of considerable extent. The lowest of these 
beds, resting directly on the Chalk and known as the Thanet Sand, consists 
of a fine light-coloured sand typically without pebbles. The Woolwich and 
Reading series, which lie above and often pass almost imperceptibly into the 
