Page:Submerged forests (1913).djvu/77

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
V]
IRISH SEA AND BRISTOL CHANNEL
63

The accompanying mammals are the stag, Celtic shorthorn, horse, dog (a very slender breed), sheep, goat, and pig, all of which, except the stag, seem to be domestic animals. Dr Chas. Andrews remarks that the ox seems to be certainly the Celtic shorthorn (Bos longifrons), while the small sheep is a characteristic Romano-British form, which has been described from many places, where it has been found with Roman and earlier remains.

A number of seeds were obtained from the peat which rests on this old land-surface, and it is noticeable that several of them belong to brackish water or sea-coast plants. No cultivated species have yet been found, either here or elsewhere, in even the newest of the submerged forests. The list of plants is still a small one; but it may be worth giving, to show what species can be identified. It must not be forgotten that in such deposits plants which do not possess either deciduous leaves or hard seeds leave no recognisable traces, though they may have been quite as abundant as the hazel, of which everyone notices the nuts. The seeds belong to:—

Ranunculus Flammula

repens

sceleratus

Viola

Malachium aquaticum

Stellaria media

Lychnis Flos-cuculi

Rubus fruticosus

Callitriche

Cornus sanguinea

Sambucus nigra

Aster Tripolium

Solanum Dulcamara

Ajuga reptans