A HISTORY OF CORNWALL with the Upper Tamar District. At South Petherwin the Lower Devonian are exposed and occupy the greater part of this district. West of the Lynher a small portion of the Bodmin Granite Boss is included ; on a much smaller scale the same rock appears at Kit Hill and Gunnislake. At Torpoint, and on the coast a little to the west of Rame Head, small patches of limestone of an inferior character crop out from the argillaceous slates. They are very restricted both superficially and in depth, and certainly have no appreciable influence on the flora. Beds of greenstone and trappean rock traverse the Upper and Lower Devonian systems, while the granite and the Lower Devonian encircling it are intersected by short elvan courses running from east to west. As might be expected from a consideration of its physical features this slice of the county offers many attractions to botanists. Rubi are represented here more largely than in any other part of Cornwall, the result in a great measure of the good work of Mr. Briggs. Ran- unculus auricomus, R. arvensis, Viola ericetorum, Silene nocttflora, Trifolium glomeratum, T. agra- rium, Lathyrus sylvestris, Sedum album, Pimpinella major, Specularia hybrida, Linaria purpurea, Zostera nana, all rare in other parts of Cornwall, have been gathered in the lower half of this district. In the upper half Physospermum commutatum stretches right across the country from Halton Quay on the Tamar to the western boundary-line. Sisymbrium Thalianum, not recorded from west of Bodmin, is common on walls and dry banks around Torpoint and Rame, and Hypericum undulatum occurs in most marshy places. On the dry slopes above Whitsand Bay Lotus angustisslmus and L. hispidus keep each other company, the latter being the more abundant. Along the banks of the river at St. Germans and Tideford large cushions of Atriplex portulacoides are scattered over the beds of Salicornia herbacea and Suteda maritima. Sandy soil near Notter Bridge gives a home to Scirpus sylvaticus, and in a large marsh on the left bank of the Tidy just below Tideford, as well as in a salt marsh at Cotehele and a mud- flat below Danescombe, on the Tamar, Alopecurus bulbosus is very abundant. The muddy banks of the Tamar between Calstock and Morwellham is the one tract in Cornwall where grow Scirpus triqueter and C. carinatus. The following are also unrecorded for any other county division : Viola odorata x hirta, Rubus erythrinus, R. grains, R. silvaticus, R. Boraanus, R. tbyrsiger, Crepis nicceensis, Campanula Trachelium, Atropa Belladonna, Until recorded from this district in 1870 by Mr. Briggs, Pyrus cordata was not known as a British plant. Orobancbe amethystea was also added to the British flora in 1845 by its dis- covery along Whitsand Bay by Rev. C. A. Johns. Attention is directed to the fact that five broomrapes have been found in a small area in this division. A damp meadow near Weir Head furnishes a luxuriant crop of Poterium officinale. Occurring but sparsely west of this division until the Lizard peninsula is reached its presence by the Tamar in such profusion is a matter of considerable interest. Vicia lutea, Spiraa Filipendula and Orobanche rubra, three other well known Lizard plants, crop up here also. Jacob's West Devon and Cornwall Flora (1837) mentions Nasturtium palustre for the banks of the Lynher and Polycarpon tetraphyllum for Port Wrinkle, but both plants have long disappeared from the district. Euphorbia Peplis was last seen on Seaton sands by Mr. F. P. Pascoe in 1847, and E. platyphyllos known to grow at Torpoint in 1842 long ago took its departure. Whether erroneously recorded or whether it has died out is difficult to say, but no one appears to have seen Trifolium suffocatum at Crafthole since Jones placed it on record in his Botanical Tour (1820). Quite rightly we think did Mr. Briggs warmly inveigh against the ruthless collecting of certain grabbers whereby Cornwall was robbed of its only patch of Potentilla argentea. It was found by Mr. Briggs at Trevol in 1865 and continued in occupa- tion of the spot until 1878, when it was entirely lost sight of. SPECIES AND VARIETIES WORTH NOTING IN THE LOWER TAMAR DISTRICT Helleborus viridis, Linn. Brassica oleracea, Linn. Dianthus Armeria, Linn. Berberis vulgaris, Linn. - alba, Baits Stellaria umbrosa, Ofiz. Papaver hybridum, Linn. Diplotaxis muralis, DC. Buda rupestris Meconopsis cambrica, Vig. Lepidium ruderale, Linn. Hypericum hircinum, Linn. Glaucium flavum, Crantz campestre, R. Br. calycinum, Linn. Neckeria lutea, Scop. Thlaspi arvense, Linn. dubium, Leers claviculata, N. E. Br. Teesdalia nudicaulis, R. Br. - montanum, Linn. Barbarea intermedia, Boreau Cakile maritima, Scop. Malva pusilla, Sm. Erophila praecox, DC. Raphanus Raphanistrum, Linn. Linum usitatissimum, Linn. Cochlearia anglica, Linn. - maritimus, Sm. Geranium striatum, Linn. Erysimum cheiranthoides, Linn. Polygala oxyptera, Reichb. pyrenaicum, Burm.jil. 58
