Darwin teaches. A fernery or aquarium, yea, the very smallest of all God's creatures, would furnish us with a world far too wide to be conquered in a lifetime, and it could not fail to be that, with longing and persistent sight, we should find out some fact about such, altogether new to science, and capable perhaps of illustrating some subtle law of Nature's working in an obscure corner of her laboratory, and mayhap of furnishing a key whereby a new chapter in the mysterious book of our common mother might be deciphered; and, although the British Association may not immediately crown our labours with its approval, or universal science applaud, we may have the proud satisfaction of electing ourselves fellows of a new society, consisting only of one person, and that person, our noble self; and, in addition, of presenting ourselves, at our own expense, with the biggest gold medal of which anybody has ever heard.

Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 25th, 1891.

WHEN the programme drawn out by the President, the Rev. Sir George H. Cornewall, for a visit to his residence, Moccas Court, to Bredwardine and Monnington, for the fourth Field Meeting of this year, reached the members, its popularity soon became apparent, and was proved by the fact that no fewer than one-third of them accepted his invitation. Amongst the visitors must be mentioned the Rev. William Henry Purchas (co-editor with the Rev. Augustin Ley of The Flora of Herefordshire), and the Rev. Moyle Rogers, the great authority on the species of Rubus, of which we find in the 8th edition of The London Catalogue of British Plants no less than ninety-eight varieties.

Upon their arrival in Moccas Park the members were met by the Rev. Sir George Cornewall, who without delay directed them to his Church. Having explained the symbolical Tree of Life on the tympanum over the entrance door on the south side, he conducted them into the interior, where he read a paper explanatory of the more than usually interesting features of this Early Norman building, chiefly owing to its antiquity and uniformity of style, being perhaps older than that of Kilpeck, and free from the grotesque architectural designs executed on the latter Church. Another feature which makes it unique is the fact that it is constructed of Travertine with the exception of the jambs, &c., of the windows and doors, and the decorative mouldings which are cut in the Old Red Sandstone of the county. The organ, the case of which is decorated by Kemp, situated at the west end of the Church, is blown by hydraulic power, the water supply of which has never failed, neither during the drought of 1886, nor the almost unprecedented winter of 1890-91. From the Church the President conducted the members through his garden lawn, in which were growing some handsome trees, notably Cryptomeria japonica, Occidental plane, Wellingtonia, Hemlock spruce, and the great Cedar of Lebanon, of which last the dimensions were taken four feet above the level of the ground, where the girth was found to be 16 ft. 1 in., being an increase of exactly 2 ft. during the last 17 years. A tablet fixed on the tree gives the girth as follows:

Fragments of Calcareous Tufa are met with in the following Herefordshire Churches: Aymestrey, Bredwardine, Humber, Letton, Lyonshall, Monkland, Much Dewchurch, Wigmore, and probably in several more Churches. Before the restoration of Wigmore Church about twenty years ago, the ancient chancel arch was built entirely of Tufa. It was removed, carted away and sold; some of the blocks were very massive. We have seen some of them now appropriated as rockwork in a garden.

Leaving the lawn by a bridge which overlooks the large fernery, containing numerous and rare specimens growing in a rockery formed principally of Travertine, the members reached the garden, where the cultivation of the most showy British wild plants, mixed with plants from Italy, Switzerland, and other more distant foreign parts, has been so successfully carried out during a long period of years under the horticultural taste and supervision of Sir George. It was somewhat surprising to find that a most healthy specimen in blossom of an Aralia, more generally cultivated in greenhouses, had survived even the inclemency of the almost unprecedented winter of 1890-1891. Amongst British wild plants were seen handsome plants of Inula Helenium, Dipsacus, Lythrum salicaria, Lysimachia vulgaris and nummularia, Thalictrum majus, Eryngium maritimum, and many others, including the very rare Asarum europaeum; interspersed were plants from all parts, amongst which should be mentioned Eryngium amethystinum, Smilax sarsaparilla, Canna, Gentians and Saxifrages from the Alps, Ranunculus aconitifolius, Polygonum cuspidatum, Potentilla fruticosa, Veratrum album, Rubus spectabilis, and the handsome digitated blackberry from America, with varieties of Spiræa, Tropæolum, Alchemilla conjuncta, Acæna Nova Zealandica, or Great Burr, so troublesome in the sheep's wool in New Zealand, and a host of other plants far too numerous to be here mentioned, unless we call attention to a well-grown, healthy plant of the true Holly Fern, and Water lilies with the Arrow-head growing in the tank in the inner enclosure. In the garden the botanists found a Rubus thyrsiflora.

Punctually at one o'clock the party arrived at The Court, where the President exhibited some specimens of rare British plants of the locality, which included Ranunculus lingua and Wahlenbergia hederacea, or, according to Sir Joseph Hooker, now called Campanula, both in flower. The visitors were entertained at luncheon by Lady Cornewall, and afterwards Sir George, having briefly conducted the business of the Club, read an explanatory paper upon the formation of Travertine, not only in this locality, but also in many other places on a far larger scale; adding that its process of growth, or formation by the deposition of carbonate of lime over vegetable growths, would be seen in Depple Wood, within a mile of Moccas Court. Time only permitted of too brief an expression of thanks to Sir George for his interesting paper, and to Lady Cornewall for her hospitality. Proceeding to Depple Wood after luncheon, the first curious and rare object which attracted attention was an ancient Sundial on the lawn, of which more will be said hereafter, and in the meadow close to the entrance into Depple Wood were gathered many specimens of the aforementioned Campanula hederacea, this being the only known locality in Herefordshire for this plant. In the wood many exposures of the Travertine were met with in the diminutive streams running down the slope of the hill into the Wye below, and it was astonishing to hear from Sir George of the rapidity of its growth, as he pointed out the masses accumulated since he had removed so much for the restoration of his Church.

Quitting Depple Wood, a route was taken by Cross End Farm to the Deer Park, passing thence round Lawn Pool (which, owing to the lower average of the rainfall during the last 12 months, was nearly dry), where Lysimachia vulgaris

and Scutellaria galericulata were gathered in flower. Botanists will regret to learn that, since the drying up of this pool, that interesting plant Utricularia minor, which we always took a delight in seeing on its margin, has entirely disappeared.

The visitors having reached the Deer Park, examined some of the most magnificent oak trees in the kingdom, such as have been called in the Woolhope Club Transactions the Moccas Oak, the Club Oak, the Tall Oak, and many others. It may be mentioned that the Moccas Oak, hollowed with decay, and charred internally, owing to its having been accidentally set on fire, now measures 36 ft. 6 in. in circumference at 5 ft. from the ground, and the Club Oak 20 ft. 10 in. In Transactions, 1870, page 314, the girth of the Club Oak is given 19 ft. 5 in., and its height 94 ft. The Tall Oak, a magnificent tree in complete decay at its base, fell a short time ago. Unfortunately its true length was not measured before the foresters had removed the upper portion of it, but it was possible to take its girth, which was found to be 18 ft. In Transactions, 1870, page 315, the girth of the Tall Oak is given 18 ft. 7 in., and its height 118 ft. A photograph of this tree is represented there on the opposite page. The Broad Oak, so called from its extraordinarily wide-spreading canopy, covered a radius of more than 60 ft, or including the bole, a diameter of from 120 to 130 ft. Amongst other trees ought to be mentioned an Oriental Plane in the grounds on the western side of the house, its leaves less deeply indented than those of the Occidental Plane in the garden lawn, and in the same direction, within 100 yards of the drive upon the right hand side, towered an Ash tree of huge proportions and magnificent growth.

The Sundial on the lawn is one of the most elaborate ever constructed. A picture of it is deservedly represented in Miss Gatty's work on Sundials. The stone has perished in the spot where the date was probably inscribed. Judging from the architecture of the base, Sir George Cornewall ascribes it to about the year 1600. We are indebted to Lady Cornewall for the following description.

SUNDIAL AT MOCCAS.

"Tyme passeth and speketh not,
Deth cometh and warneth not;
Amend to-day and slack not,
To-morrow thyself cannot."

The above lines are inscribed round the four sides of a very beautiful old dial pillar at Moccas Court, Herefordshire. It bears several dials of various shapes, circular and heart shaped, concave, triangular, &c.; between and around these faces the following Latin mottoes are sculptured. The first is from the Vulgate Psalm xix., 1.

(1.) Coeli enarrant gloriam Dei et Operationem manuum eius annunciat firmamentum.

"The heavens declare the Glory of God and the firmament showeth His handy work."

(2.) Si culpare velis, culpabilis esse cavebis: Nemo sine crimine vivit ; id circo

ne temere judicato.

"If thou woulds't blame, thou wilt beware of being blameworthy.

No one lives without reproach, therefore judge not rashly."

(3.) Instar globi stat machina mundi.

"Like a ball stands the framework of the world."

(4.) Dilige Dominum Deum toto corde.

"Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart."

(5.) Sol est lux et gloria mundi.

"The sun is the light and glory of the world."

This is round another circular face. On the north side beneath the signs of the planets is Domus Planetarum, and on south side, Philippus Jones fecit.

The dial pillar which now belongs to Sir George Cornewall, is thought to have been made in the reign of Charles II., and was first set up at Monnington Court (on the opposite side of the Wye) the property of the Tompkyns family. When this property came into possession of the Cornewalls, the dial was brought to Moccas. A similar one is at Kinlet near Bewdley, but it is not in such good preservation as the one at Moccas.

The following is from The Archæological Journal, Vol. xxxiv., No. 1361877, page 502, when the Royal Archæological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland visited the district of Hereford, Monday, August 13th, 1877 :

"The members then examined a curious sundial in the garden in the form of a St. Andrew's cross, raised upon a pedestal, the various sides being cut into as many dials, with English and Latin inscriptions. This sundial resembles in its general character that in the desolate courtyard of the ancient manor house of the Dove's at Upton near Peterborough, and may be compared with one at Kelburne House in Scotland, which exhibits sixty dials."

Passing from the Deer Park, the route was taken towards the river again, where an advanced outwork, succeeded by embankments, indicative of outer defences, moat, &c., terminating with the inner line of defence, and the Keep, showed the site of Bredwardine Castle, and that it must have been a place of considerable size and importance in the time of the Vaughans. Close by is the Church, another specimen, at least partly, of Norman Architecture. Herring bone work on the north wall faces the visitor as he enters the building by the south door; it is also conspicuous externally on the north side, to a height of five or six feet above the ground. As in Moccas Church, so also in Bredwardine Church are tympana over both the south entrance door and the closed-up north door. The history and features of the Church were explained in a paper read by the President.

The similarity of the font to that in Kilpeck Church is remarkable, not only as regards design and huge dimensions, but also in the fact that its bowl is made of the same conglomerate stone.