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BOTANY IN treating of the flora of a county, it is well to refer not only to that which is now prevalent ; but also, so far as knowledge serves, to that which has prevailed in the past, but whose existence has become impossible owing to altered surroundings. In few of our midland counties have the changes incidental to the growth of popula- tion been more marked than in Warwickshire. A glance at a map of the county, and a study of the names of localities, will show that formerly heaths, wastes, commons and marshes existed, indeed were extensive in all parts of the county ; and the records of the older botanists show that plants characteristic of such localities, though now in many cases either extinct or very rare, were then of more frequent occurrence ; but heaths, wastes and commons have been enclosed and reclaimed, marshes and bogs drained, and the only portions of the county which at the present time really represent these past conditions, are some of the wilder portions of Sutton Park ; for here we have the lingering remains of a flora which was once widespread, such as the cranberry, Vaccinium oxycoccos ; the whortleberry, V. Vitis-Idaea ; the black crowberry, Empetrum nigrum ; the grass of parnassus, Parnassia palustris ; and the rare sedge Carex Ebrartiana, now its only British home. The distribution of plants is to a certain extent determined by climate ; proximity or otherwise to maritime influences, altitude, and by the general character of its rocks, whether igneous, calcareous or sandstone. The insular position of Warwickshire, and the absence of any great irregularities in its surface produce a mildness of climate ; while it is free from the disturbing influences of either sea or mountain. Although everywhere undulating beautifully, the greatest altitude is only 855 feet above sea-level, and the average altitude about 380 feet above the sea, or well within the lowest zone of climatic influence. Its rocks are varied, beginning with the Cambrian and ending with the Inferior Oolite, but these are often in a degree obscured by the sands, gravels and clays of the drift, and these deposits materially affect the character of the flora. Throughout its area Warwickshire is well covered with trees, many of the woods being extensive, probably remains of the Great Forest of Arden, and are often rich in characteristic plants, as in the well-wooded district around Atherstone and Hartshill. Here is found the rare wood i 33 5