Page:VCH Berkshire 1.djvu/103

 BOTANY Orchis militaris, L. Scirpus pauciflorus, Lightf. [Lilium Martagon, L.~ Elymus europasus, L. Convallaria majalis, L. Dryopteris montana, Kuntze Bromus hordeaceus, L., var. glabrescens (Cost.), Lomaria Spicant, Desv. Druce 4. THE KENNET DISTRICT is a large and unequally shaped tract of country, which is bounded on the north by the Ock district, on the east by the Pang district, on the west by Wiltshire, and on the south by Hampshire and the portion of Berkshire drained by the Loddon and Blackwater. Near East Ilsley the summit of the watershed is about 600 feet, and the ridge rises to 650 feet at Cuck- hamsley Knob, while the downs above Wantage are 740 feet high, and White Horse Hill, 840 feet, culminates this northern range. Membury Fort, on the Wiltshire border, is a little over 700 feet, but Hungerford is only 328 feet above sea level. The drainage area of the Kennet district consists mainly of three portions : that traversed by the main stream of the Kennet ; secondly, that through which the Lambourn flows ; and, thirdly, that drained by the Emborne stream. The Lambourn sub-division consists of the upper chalk formation, and a great part of it is bare, arable soil with numerous dry valleys. In the upper portion trees are few, and com- paratively small bits of the original grassy downs remain. The river issues near the base of the ' Seven Barrow Field,' near Upper Lambourn, and passes by the sequestered town of that name and by East Garston and the pretty villages of Great and Little Shefford. It is here a pleasant, clear trout stream with a gravelly bottom, and the narrow meadows are on peat, since peat was cut in them a century ago for fuel. The tussocks of Carex paniculata are conspicuous, and (Enanthe crocata grows here and there in the irrigated fields. The river then passes the villages of Weston and Welford, where there is a row of fine old crab-trees, a lime avenue and a considerable growth of mistletoe ; it then flows by Boxford and past the ruined, ivy-mantled castle of Donnington, where Chaucer's Oak formerly grew, to the Kennet. The northern part is bare and bleak, and resembles in its flora the similar area belonging to the Pang district in many respects ; but the soldier orchid (Orchis militaris) and the monkey (0. Simia) have never been recorded for it, nor does the pasque flower (Anemone Pulsatilla) or the butcher's broom (Ruscus) extend so far to the west. But one plant at least occurs in the upper Lambourn district which has not yet been found elsewhere in the county, namely the purple milk vetch (Astragalus danicus), which occurs near West Ilsley over a very limited area. Further south in the Lambourn, as in the Pang district, the chalk becomes covered with deposits either of brick earth or else of tertiary beds, and then extensive woodlands prevail, or gravelly commons whose borders shelve down into boggy tracts. One of the richest of these heathy and boggy commons is that of Snelsmore, 470 feet above sea level, where one has in close contiguity a rich ericetal flora with numerous interesting species of brambles, including Rubus nessensis, R. plicatus, R. nitidus and R. Sprenge/ii, and deep sphagnum bogs with an extensive uliginal vegetation. Near Bagnor the monkey flower (Mimulus Langsdorffii) is completely naturalized, and Akhemilla vulgaris var. filicaulis occurs. Rosa systyla has been found near Donnington. The Emborne stream runs through pretty scenery south of the Kennet and drains very rich and interesting country, including Inkpen Common, where Viola lactea grows, and the southern side of Greenham Common and Crookham Heath, as well as the woods of Sandleford Priory, where there is a locality for the field gentian (Gentiana campestris). On Greenham Common grows the sweet gale (Myrica Ga/e), and by the stream the American balsam (Impatiens biflora) and Mimulus Langsdorffii are both naturalized, and probably were brought down from the ornamental water in Highclere Park. On the common also grows a rich bramble flora including R. Babingtonii, R. Sprengelii, R. holerythros, R. rosaceus, R.plicatus, R. carpinifelius, R. infestus, R. Borreri, R. oigoclados var. Newbouldii, R. Bloxamii, R. Marshall'^ etc., as well as Trigonella, Hypericum Elodes^ Carex Baenninghausiana, a hybrid of C. remota and C. paniculata. The main stream of the Kennet, which runs in a trough in the synclinal chalk in its course from Chilton Foliat to Reading, is a pleasing stream with charming villages near, and the extensive irrigated meadows are a feature in its scenery, as are the large and luxurious reed beds, which however are somewhat disappointing in variety of vegetation. The avens Geum rivale is a characteristic plant, especially as the stream nears Reading, and occasionally its hybrid with G. urbanum may be seen. I 57 8