A HALF-DAY’S RAMBLE IN THE ARROW DISTRICT. 
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A HALF-DAY’S RAMBLE IN THE ARROW DISTRICT. 
BY JAMES E. BAGNALL, A.L.S. 
One of my first rambles for the present year was in the 
Arrow district, from Studley, through Spernal, Morton Bagot, 
Mapleborough Green, and Ipsley, to Redditcli ; a beautiful 
district, enclosed on the east and south-east by the high lands 
of the Alne Hills, Spernal Park, and the woodlands about 
Morton Bagot. These are in part the watershed of the Arrow, 
which was at the time of my visit a turbid, rapid stream. My 
desire was to work more fully the moss flora of this district, to 
note its boundaries, and to get some general idea of its physical 
features. My work began as soon as I left the railway station 
at Studley, the footways and banks being verdant with mosses. 
The first to be noticed were Funaria hyyrometrica and Ceratodon, 
intermingled with the straggling stems of Plagiocliila bidentata; 
on the banks, the fisherman’s favourite, Hypnum purum; flat¬ 
tened patches of 11 . denticulatum, velvety patches of 11. veluti- 
num , straggling masses of H. rutabulum, silky tufts of Dicranella 
heteromallci, and here and there closer search revealed the 
beautiful fern-like Fissulens hryaides, whilst in the drains its 
more robust congener, F. taxifolius, was abundant, but rarely 
fruiting. Near Spernal Ash I noticed some patches of a dark, 
shining, green moss, with peculiar incurved branches, which I 
afterwards found to be Scleropodium illecebrum. This I had 
never seen in the county before; it is a moss more often found 
in maritime situations than in inland districts. In the lane 
leading to Spernal I noticed the polypody, Polypodium vulyare, 
very abundant, and its frequent companion, Arum maculatum, 
and on reaching the Arrow, which runs through this village, 
I found the trees on the river side well clad with the mosses 
more usual in such places, such as Leskeapolycarpa, in abundant 
fruit; Tortula mucronata, Scleropodium ccespitosum , both very 
local mosses ; Tortula Icecipila, and Orthotrichum affine ; higher 
up the river at Washford, I found Tortula papillosa in scanty 
patches, T. subulata growing in abundance in the mud left by 
the stream on tree roots ; with this an abundant growth of 
Didymodon rubellus, with old capsules ; large tufts of Tortula 
insulana and Horn alia trichomanoides. I also noticed at Spernal 
that form of Orthotrichum affine which more nearly approaches 
the rarer 0 . rivulare in size and habit; 0 . Lyellii m abundance, 
and the leaves richly clad with the articulated bodies ( Conferva 
orthotrichi ) by which it is usually propagated; and its frequent 
companion, 0 . diaphanum. On the wooden bridge over the 
