268
WEATHER REPORT
wärmest part of the summer with 6 days of temperatures reaching 80 or more. These was considerable haze at times and the humidity was rather high. From 26th - 31st some further rain and thunder occurred and temperatures were lower. T h e total rainfall was 3.26 inches, 2.18 of which occurred on 13th and 14th. It is very likely that there were large variations of rainfall from place to place in this month. The sunshine was 200 hours and on the high side. The mean temperature was the highest since 1947 at 64.3° SEPTEMBER.—There was little of interest in the weather in this month. Rainfall at 1.77 inches contained .97 which feil on 22nd. Sunshine at 162 hours and mean temperature of 58.2° require little comment. Some pleasant late summer days were enjoyed from 19th - 2Ist inclusive. R. R.
WILSON.
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS SUFFOLK
NATURAL HISTORY CLUB,
1855
" On July 26th, 1855, Professor Henslow, with a party of naturalists from Ipswich, started a working club under the above name. The object is to examine the natural history of the entire county by excursions during the summer, and the establishment of correspondents in various parts of the county. It is hoped that by this means the natural history of the county will in a few years be pretty well explored ; a correct record will be kept of all plants, insects, birds and any other object in natural history which are met with during the excursions. Any person in the county desirous of encouraging and joining this club will do well to communicate their wishes either to Mr. Henslow, or to Dr. Drummond, of Ipswich. This club is considered to be in a certain degree in connection with the museum, and Mr. Knight, the active and intelligent curator, will gladly take charge of all specimens committed to his care which are intended to illustrate a complete Fauna of the county of Suffolk. If other counties will do the same, how much will be effected in a few years ? The meeting on July 26th, was at Bently, and Dadnish (sie, Dodnash ?) Wood was explored. Rain came on unfortunately in the middle of the day. C.R.B.—Extract from " The Gardeners' Chronicle," September Ist, 1855." [We reprint this by permission of the Editor of The Gardeners' Chronicle, in which it appeared on August 27th, 1955.]
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
269
Cuscuta epithymum L. Murr. Mr. M. G. Rutherford has sent a specimen of this from Lakenheath. I had said at a meeting that this had become rare in Suffolk since I was a child, when it was common. This specimen shows well the aerial roots attached by suckers to three hosts—Lady's Bedstraw, Black Medick and a leaf of Yarrow. It seems to be quite a young plant as these aerial roots are still continuous with earth roots. J. C. N. W. [Broad Red Clover, Trifolium pratense seed samples imported into G.B. in 1954 from Canada were frequently found to contain seeds of Dodder.—P. J. O. T.] Verbascum thapsiforme Schrad. In 1952, Mr. H. J. Boreham found four or five plants which he identified as this Mullein on the floor of a disused sand-pit at Mildenhall Road, Bury St. Edmunds, (See Vol. VIII, Pt. 1. p. 18) but since 1953 this habitat has been destroyed by the tipping of rubbish. He took some seed and one plant was flowering in September last in his garden. Its height was seven feet three inches and the flowers were one and threequarter inches across. A very fine plant even for V. thapsiforme. He says that this plant is not hardy and will not stand much frost which is the only apparent reason for its ceasing to grow. Three plants threw up their flowering spikes in their first year; these were dwarf, less than 12 inches high and would probably have flowered during November - December, but that he ' foolishly' pulled them up. These would properly be called annuals, but the species is truly biennial. RAT-WEED. Mr. Boreham says that both Petty and Sun Spurge are called Wart Weed but in Suffolk this has been corrupted into Rat-Weed. [An amusing example of the transposition of the ' r ' in Middle English (e.g. bird and brid, griddle and girdle). It needs only the long Suffolk ' a ' to complete the change. Both Mr. Boreham and I remember when the milky juice of these Spurges was applied to warts with curative effect. J. C. N. W.] THE HAWTHORN WEBBER, Scythropia crataegella,—Lord Cranbrook has observed this on Cotoneaster horizontalis. It was identified for him by the R. H. S. Entomologist. This small gregarious moth spins a web and feeds on Hawthorn and Cotoneaster. [Am I failing in the code of conduct for naturalists if I continue to remove their unsightly mess from my cotoneasters with a stiff brush ? J. C. N. W.] W H E A T FEN. Since this is in Norfolk by the river Yare only five miles from Norwich, we must not include in our Suffolk records the rieh variety of plants which Mr. Ellis pointed out to us on June 12th in his woods and from his bärge along the banks
270
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
of his small winding broad. It was, however, a very profitable and instructive day for our Suffolk botanists, and many of us saw some plants for the first time. Under Mr. Ellis's leadership, we learnt to distinguish many species of fern : Dryopteris borreri and Filix mas, D. spinulosa, and D. cristata, Thelypteris palustris, Athyrium filix-femina, Ophioglossum vulgatum. Huge clumps of Osmunda regalis were admired, though these are probably not native there. Among the interesting flowering plants were Cicuta virose (Cow-bane) Ranunculus flammula, a pink variety of Ajuga reptans, Peucedanumpalustre (Milk Parsley), Rosippa amphibia (Great Yellow Cress), R. islandica (Marsh Yellow Cress), Ligustrum vulgare (wild Privet) and huge trees, 30 to 40 ft. high, of Prunus laurocerasus ; and many sedges—Carex rostrata, C. riparia, C. aculiformis, C. pseudocyperus; as well as Flöte Grass, Glyceria fluitans. Orchis fuchsii x O. praetermissa.—Several specimens noted on made-up waste ground near the I.C.I. Factory and the River Gipping at Stowmarket. Stern one-third hollow, stout ridged. Leaves not sheathing, broadest above the base and gradually tapering to a long point. Transitional leaves present. Leaves keeled but not folded, marked with circular spots and no green-centred rings as normally found in this hybrid. Bracts in dense spike exceeding lower flowers. Central lobe of labellum small, marked with spots and lines. Ovary stout and twisted. Spur stoutish, 2 mm. diameter in middle. Associated with Arrhenatherum elatius, Equisetum arvense and Centaurea nigra co-dominant. Pastinaca sativa occurs and Anacamptis pyramidalis is nearby. Soil pH value 7. N.
S. P.
MITCHELL.
Dactylis glomerata, COCKSFOOT G R A S S — A viviparous headof this .grass found in the shade of elm scrub at Badley Walk 2.10.55. In the head were ± 40 vegetative shoots about 10 cm. in length balanced and fed by a thin stem of about 35 cms. in height. The plant also bore two normal seed heads. N.
S. P.
MITCHELL.
F E R N P R O P A G A T I O N — 2 . — O f the four dishes of prothalli of the Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis), growing last autumn—see Transactions Vol. IX, Part 1, page 57—only those on the unsterilised peat survived the winter. The dishes were kept on a window sill where the temperature must often have been near freezing point. On 23rd April, 1955, as they were nine months old, \ in. in diameter, and still without sign of fronds, their dish was transferred to a heated garden-frame, (60 - 65 °F.). Apparently as a result of this,
272
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
Scirpus maritimus L. (SEA C L U B RUSH).—This plant is most tolerant to changes of habitat (see p. 37 Vol. IX). Some roots were dug in November, from mud with a medium high percentage of salt, from saltings at Waldringfield. They were planted into a rockery in my garden in Ipswich. The soil, a coarse sandy loam with a low moisture retentive capacity, could not compare with the constantly wet alluvium of the saltings. As shoots emerged, the plant was watered and had a little extra moisture through May after which it relied on rainfall. It grew to about half normal height and flowered, but flagged during the heat of August. October, 1 9 5 5 . P . J. O . TRIST. FASCIATION I N SPEAR T H I S T L E (Cirsium vulgare).—A fasciated stem forming a ribboned union of 5 stems was found in August, 1955, on the edge of a marsh ditch on the Gedgrave Level. The inflorescence of about 30 flowers in a dense Cluster was taken and kept in water for a few days and then harvested for seed formation. As the ' thistledown ' freed, it remained around the flower head to form an almost circular ball of down 18" in diameter. 17.9.55.
P . J. O .
TRIST.
FASCIATED FLOWERS have attracted the attention of several of our members this summer. Mr. Boreham has sent a Plantago major L. which he found on the headland of a field at Bury St. Edmunds in October, of which a photograph by Mr. Beaufoy appears as our frontispiece. I cannot resist quoting a part of his letter in which he falls into dialect for my benefit: " You'll hater-ar-be suffen careful when you goo ter git it outer ther owed bore, it is watcher call wholly suffen tender, wee allus call it ther owd Broad Laved Planten."
Two plants of Linaria purpurea L. showed the same monstrosity in my garden in July (J. C. N. W.) Mr. E. A. Ellis has also seen it in Norfolk this year in Plantago major, Cirsium vulgare and in Ranunculus repens and R. sardous. Mr. Smedley has seen it frequently in Daisies, Pyrethrums and Dandelions. T H E DEVIL'S DYKE.—-It seems certain that the Ditch was made for defence, resting as it did on forests to the S.E. and on fen to the N.W. It is variously stated that it was the work of Iron-Age men, that it was raised in early Anglo-Saxon times, either by the East Angles against the Middle Angles in the 6th Century or by Mercians in the 7th or 8th Century.
To-day, we can thank whoever was responsible for providing a site ideally suited to chalk-loving flora. Among plants noted growing this year were the following :—
NOTES A N D
OBSERVATIONS
273
Festuca ovina, Poterium sanquisorba, Hieracium pilosella, Carex glauca, Helianthemum chamcecistus, Briza media, Kaieria gracilis, Thymus serpyllum, Hippocrepis comosa, Lotus corniculatus, Leontodon hispidus, Asperula cynanchica, Cirsium acaule, Plantago media, P. lanceolata, Scabiosa columbaria, Pimpinella saxifraga, Centaurea nigra, Linum catharticum, Campanula rotundifolia, C. glomerata, Euphrasia officinalis, E. nemorosa, Anthyllis vubieraria, Daucus carota, Filipendula hexapetala, Onobrychis sativa, Gentiana amarella, Polygala vulgaris, Thesium humifusum, Senecio integrifolia, Astragalus danicus, Bromus erectus, Blackstoniaperfoliata, Geraniumsanguincum, Carlina vulgaris, Origanum vulgare. G DAVID JONES FUNGI.—Species October 15th.
found
in
Decoy
Wood,
Chillesford, on
Amanita muscaria, pantherina, citrina, phalloides; Lepiota procera, cristata ; Armillaria mellea, mucida ; Clitocybe aurantiaca, odora, nebularis, infundibuliformis, brumalis; Laccaria laccata, amethystina ; Lactarius quietus ; Russida lepida, ochroleuca, lutea, emetica; Mycena pura, galopus; Pluteus cervinus; Paxillus involutus ; Hebeloma crustiliniforme ; Psalliota (Agaricus) sylvicola ; Stropharia aeruginosa; Hypholoma sublateritium, fasciculare, hydrophilum ; Boletus edulis, chrysenteron ; Polystictus versicolor ; Fomes ulmarius; Phallus impudicus; Lycoperdon perlatum; Calvatia saccata ; Pesiza aurantium ; Xylaria hypoxylon. S.
C.
PORTER.
[On the Sunday following, Mr. Porter found a very interesting rare fungus, the Bear's Tooth, Hydnum coralloides, not a new record for Suffolk, however, for he first found and recorded it. near Woodbridge in 1950. See Vol. VII, pt. II, p. 76]. T H E Y E L L O W N E C K E D M O U S E (Apodemus ßavicollis)—has been reported during 1955 from the following fresh localities :— Claydon, (a lone specimen in a pantry—Mrs. Hawker). Felixstowe, (one captured on allotment with many A. sylvaticus, H. C. Grant). Haverhill, (a number captured over the past few years together with many A. sylvaticus, A. E. Vine). Knodishall, (in garden and potting shed together with many A. sylvaticus, Mrs. Hawdon). Hollesley (in garden together with many A. sylvaticus, R. Ffinch). At Melton one was seen in a nest under the eaves of a barn, (W. H. Payn). At Gt. Glemham a male was captured in the late spring in a beehive where it had made a nest on top of the quilts. (Cranbrook). STOAT.—At about noon on a very rainy day in May, 1955 I saw a Stoat standing on the window sill of our drawing room and apparently trying to climb higher up the wall towards some sparrows' nests. The adult sparrows were " m o b b i n g " it. The window sill is about 4 ft. from the ground. Mrs. H A D F I E L D , Barham Manor.
271
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
the first group of curled-up shoots appeared on 19th May, the prothalli by then having increased in size to f in. When a prothallus had two fronds, it was pricked out into a small flower-pot of damp peat and was placed by an open window where it obtained late-afternoon sunshine. The pots were kept damp by the same method as that used for the prothalli, but were left uncovered. The fronds were fan-shaped and of a soft texture, unlike the leathery bi-pinnate adult growth, although the latest frond to develop, the sixth, on the most advanced plant, is now dividing into three lobes. The shoots appeared from each prothallus at the rate of about one every fortnight, but with the return of colder weather growth has been retarded and the earliest fronds have died down. This winter, I intend to keep the majority of the young ferns in a cool but frost-free room, to put one in the heated frame, and to risk losing another by leaving it out in the frost and snow to fend for itself as in the wild State. ANNE BEAUFOY. EXPERIMENTS WITH SCOTS PINE SEEDLINGS.—Two years ago, the ten year old Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) in our garden bore one female flower. As this young tree had no male catkins, I hand-fertilised the flower with pollen from a tree in Dodnash Wood.
In May, 1955, fifteen of the twenty-two seeds produced by the cone germinated, but the number of cotyledons in the seedlings was not constant. I wondered whether this might be the result of the cross-pollination, as although the Dodnash tree was a typical Scots Pine, our own tree, being of Forestry Commission stock, was perhaps of a particular strain evolved for timber.* I decided to experiment to find out whether pure-bred trees produce seedlings with an equal number of cotyledons. Consequently, seeds from Breckland Pines, from the Dodnash tree and from Forestry Commission trees were sown. The results were as follows :
Forestry x Dodnash Dodnash Forestry Breckland
Number of cotyledons 6 7 8 3 4 5
Total number of seedlings
6 7 5 4 27 46 1 3
14 13 94 7
1
2 1
1 4 17 2
1
*I have since called at t h e Forestry Commission Nurseries at S u d b o u r n e and have been told t h a t their trees are not of a special strain. T h e seeds are taken f r o m any good stand of Scots Pine, sometimes even f r o m the hedges on the Breck. ANNE BEAUFOY.
274
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
BREEDING OF STOATS.—The Nacton Estate gamekeepers inform me that though they have killed so far 100 stoats this year (more than half bucks but also a considerable number of does) they have not come across a single doe with young, nor a single young stoat. T h e British Trust for Ornithology reported in June that in South-West England Buzzards had been building but not laying. In British Birds, (September) one correspondent reports that no Buzzard in his part of North-West Pembrokeshire is known to have laid eggs this season. T h e Editor states that reports so far received show that probably the majority of Buzzards in Devon, Cornwall and South and Central Wales have not laid eggs this year.
It seems possible that there may be a link between the nonbreeding this year of stoats and of buzzards and the Virtual disappearance of the rabbit. However, our Nacton Keepers have been surprised to find that the stoats they have killed this year have appeared to be in good, even fat condition. T h e y say this refers particularly to the bucks. A.
C.
C.
HERVEY.
H E R O N FROZEN I N A POND.—We congratulate Brian Hadwen of Felixstowe County Grammar School on being awarded the certificate of the R.S.P.C.A., for rescuing the heron. H e is a keen young naturalist. We are always pleased to hear this said of pupils of our Corporate-Member Schools. SPIDERS, N E W TO SUFFOLK. A. F. Millidge and G. H . Locket (Annais and Magazine of Natural History, 12th series, Vol. 8 No. 87, March, 1955) describe from a male Salticid spider caught at Shingle Street a new species, Euophrys browningi : they also record from Orfordness a female Trichancus affinis Kulczynski hitherto only known in Britain from a single male taken at Dungeness, Kent in 1932.