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GO-TO-BED AT NOON (Tragopogon pratensis).—Beautiful when open early in the day, beautiful when the long calyx is closed, and most beautiful with its handsome winged pappus—King's Lane, Otterbourne Churchyard.
WILD LETTUCE (Lactuca muralis).—On heaps of flints.
MOUSEAR (Thrincia hirta).—Sulphur-coloured, small, and held to be an excellent remedy for whooping-cough.
OX-TONGUE (Helminthia echioides).—The rough leaf is well named.
HAWKBIT (Hieracium autumnale). (Apargia hispida).—In cornfields.
SHEEP'S-BIT (Jasione montana).—Cranbury Common.
SOW THISTLE (Sonchus arvensis). (S. palustris).
WHORTLEBERRY (Vaccinium Myrtillus).—Ampfield Wood.
CROSS-LEAVED HEATH (Erica Tetralix) Otterbourne Hill, the glory of early autumn. BELL HEATHER (E. cinerea). LING (Calluna vulgaris) BIRD'S NEST (Monotropa Hypopitys).—South Lynch Wood.
ASH (Fraxinus excelsior).
PRIVET (Ligustrum vulgare).—Lane leading to the Itchen.
GENTIAN TRIBE
THE PERIWINKLE (Vinca minor).—Curiously irregular in blossoming. One spring the ground is covered with blue stars, another only with evergreen trails. Its only habitat here is Lincoln's Copse.
YELLOWWORT (Chlora perfoliata).—Ampfield Wood.
CENTAURY (Erythraea Centaurea).—Cranbury.
GENTIAN (Gentiana Pneunomanthe).—Baddesley bog, Cranbury. (G. Amarella).—Pitt Down.
BOGBEAN (Menyanthes trifolium).—This lovely flower abides in the wet banks of the Itchen.
BINDWEED (Convolvulus sepium).—Pure and white. (C. minor).—In shades of pink. Called lilies by the country-folk.
DODDER (Cuscuta Epithymum).—Red threads forming a beaded network over the furze.
(C. Trifolii).—Coarser fibres, smaller balls of blossom, in some years strangling the clover.
WOODY NIGHTSHADE (Solanum Dulcamara).—Purple flowers, red berries, beautiful everywhere. (S. nigrum).—White-flowered, black-berried. At Cranbury, and occasionally elsewhere.
DEADLY NIGHTSHADE (Atropa belladonna).—Used to be near the front door at Hursley Park.
HENBANE (Hyoscyamus niger).—Formerly on the top of Compton Hill, and at the angle of the lane leading to Bunstead.
BORAGE TRIBE
MULLEIN (Verbascum nigrum). The handsome spikes (V. Thapsus) everywhere. (V. Blattaria).—Formerly in hedge of cottage at Silkstede.
GROMWELL (Lithospermum officinale).—Beside Winchester Road on way to Twyford.
FORGET-ME-NOT (Myosotis palustris).—Itchen meadows.
MOUSE-EAR, SCORPION GRASS (M. versicolor).—Stubblefields. (M. sylvatica).—Ampfield. (M. arvensis).—Everywhere.
COMFREY (Symphytum officinale).—Itchen banks.
HOUND'S TONGUE (Cynoglossum officinale).—Merdon Hill, but it has disappeared from Otterbourne.
PRIMROSE (Primula vulgaris).—Has any one observed the tiny blossoms of seedlings of the first year? Now and then there are stalked heads like oxlips, white or red varieties.
COWSLIP (P. veris).—Covering some few fields, and delightful for cowslip balls. Sweetest of scents.
YELLOW LOOSESTRIFE (Lysimachia vulgaris).—A beautiful shrub by the water-side.
MONEYWORT (L. Nummularia).—The Creeping-Jenny of rock-work, etc.
YELLOW PIMPERNEL (L. nemorum).—Covering the ground in woods with its delicate pentagon stars.
PIMPERNEL (Anagallis arvensis).—A beautiful blue variety once came up in the kitchen-garden at Otterbourne House, and prevailed for several years.
(A. tenella).—In the bogs towards Cuckoo Bushes.
LABIATAE
WATER FIGWORT - (Scrophularia Balbisii). Both common and not beautiful. (S. nodosa)
FOXGLOVE (Digitalis purpurea).—All over the gravelly and peaty woods in splendid congregations of spires—called by the children poppies.
LESSER SNAPDRAGON (Antirrhinum Orontium).—Occasionally in gardens.
WILD SAGE (Salvia Verbenaca).—Ampfield.
SELF-HEAL (Prunella vulgaris).—Called Lady's Slipper.
SKULLCAP (Scutellaria galericulata).—Itchen bank. (S. minor).—Cranbury hedge on Romsey Road.
BLACK HOREHOUND (Bellota faetida).—Hursley hedges.
BASTARD BALM (Melittis Melissophyllum).—Ampfield Wood.
BETONY (Stachys Betonica). (S. palustris). (S. sylvatica). (S. arvensis).
RED ARCHANGEL (Galeopsis Tetrahit).—Near Chandler's Ford.
MOTHERWORT (Leonurus Cardiaca).—Alas, a dried specimen only remains of this handsome flower, which was sacrificed to a pig-stye on Otterbourne Hill.
WEASEL SNOUT or YELLOW NETTLE (Galeobdolon luteum).
WHITE ARCHANGEL, or BLIND NETTLE (Lamium album).—sometimes with a purple flower. (L. purpureum).—Everywhere.
BUGLE (Ajuga reptans).—All over the woods.
GERMANDER, WOOD-SAGE (Teucrium Scorodonia).—Cranbury Wood.
BUGLOSS (Lycopsis arvensis).—Sand-pit, Boyatt Lane.
VIPER'S BUGLOSS (Echium vulgare).—Chalk-pits.
GREAT YELLOW TOADFLAX (Linaria vulgaris).—In most hedges.
IVY-LEAVED T. (L. Cymbalaria).—Old wall of Merdon Castle.
FLUELLEN (L. Elatine).—In stubble-fields. (L. spuria).—In the same locality.
CREEPING T. (L. repens).—Chandler's Ford, and hedge of Romsey Road by Pot Kiln.
LESSER T. (L. minor).—Hursley.
SPEEDWELL (Veronica hederifolia).—Hursley, Ampfield. (V. polita). (V. Buxbaumii).—In fallow fields all the winter and spring. (V. arvensis). (V. officinalis).—Cranbury.
BIRD'S EYE (V. Chamvdrys).—Exquisite blue along the hedges on the chalk and clay. (V. montana).—Ampfield. (V. scutellata).
BROOKLIME (V. Beccabunga).—Esteemed a sovereign remedy for an old woman's bad leg. (V. Anagallis).—Less common, but both frequent the river and the marshes.
EYEBRIGHT (Euphrasia officinalis).—Downs and heaths.
RED EYEBRIGHT (Bartsia Odontites).—woods.
RED RATTLE (Pedicularis palustris).—Itchen meadows. (P. sylvatica).—Otterbourne Hill.
YELLOW RATTLE (Rhinanthus Crista-galli).—Itchen meadows.
YELLOW COW-WHEAT (Melampyrum pratense).—Otterbourne Park.
TOOTHWORT (Lathraea squamaria).—South Lynch Wood.
BROOMRAPE (Orobanche repens).—Mallibar roadway. (O. elatior).—Sparrow Grove. (O. minor).—Clover-fields, Otterbourne. Wonderful brown parasites, all three.
VERVEIN (Verbena officinalis).—Road-sides.
GIPSYWORT (Lycopus europaerus).—Dell Copse and all bogs.
HORSE MINT (Mentha sylvestris). (M. hirsuta). (M. sativa). (M. arvensis).
THYME (Thymus Serpyllum).—On many a bank does the wild thyme grow, with its perfume delicious.
MARJORAM (Origanum vulgare).—Banks of Winchester Road.
MONKEY FLOWER (Mimulus Luteus)—Bank of Itchen Canal, where it has spread considerably, though probably a stray.
BASIL THYME (Calamintha vulgaris).—Stubble-fields show this lovely little blue flower with a white crescent on the lip. (C. menthifolia).—Merdon Castle.
BASIL (C. Clinopodium).—Itchen.
CAT MINT (Nepeta Cataria).—Hedge towards Stoneham.
GROUND IVY (N. Glechoma).—Everywhere in woods.
PLANTAIN TRIBE
KNOCKHEADS (Plantago major).
LESSER PLANTAIN (P. media). (P. lanceolata).
STAGSHORN (P. Coronopus).—Otterbourne Hill.
GOOD KING HENRY (Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus).
GOOSEFOOT (C. album). (C. urbicum).
DOCK (Rumex sanguineus). (R. obtusfolius). (R. pratensis).
WATER DOCK (R. Hydrolapathum).—Fit table-cloth for the butterfly's table.
SORREL (R. Acetosa).
LESSER SORREL (R. Acetosella).—Elegant and slender, making red clouds all over Cranbury.
BUCKWHEAT (Polygonum fagopyrum).—For several seasons in a meadow by Brooklyn. Now vanished.
KNOTGRASS (P. Convolvulus).
BLACK BINDWEED (P. aviculare).
WATER PEPPER (P. Hydropiper).
PERSICARIA (P. Persicaria). (P. dumetorum).—Ampfield.
BASTARD TOADFLAX (Thesium linophyllum).—Crab Wood.
SUN SPURGE (Euphorbia Helioscopia).—Corn-fields.
WOOD S. (E. amygdaloides).—Cranbury and Otterbourne Park.
SMALL S. (E. Peplus). (E. exigua).
DOG'S MERCURY (Mercurialis perennis).—First to clothe the banks with fresh vernal green.
NETTLE (Urtica dioica).
SMALL NETTLE (U. nana).
HOD (Humulus Lupulus).—If not native, it has taken well to the hedges, and clothes them with graceful wreaths.
ELM (Ulmus campestris)—Largest of spreading trees.
OAK (Quercus Robur).—Acorns differ on many trees. Five varieties of Cynips produce different oak-apples. Oak is still worn on the 29th of May, and it is called Shik-shak Day. Why?
BEECH (Fagus sylvatica).—Beautiful at Ampfield and South Lynch, and permitting only a select few plants to grow under its shade.
HAZEL (Corylus Avellana).
ALDER (Alnus glutinosa).
BIRCH (Betula alba).—Silver-leaved and white-barked, making fairy groves.
ASPEN (Populus tremula).—Aps, the people call it. The catkins are like caterpillars.
WILLOW or WITHY (Salix Caprea).—Our yellow goslings in spring, as they shoot from their silver rabbit-tail catkins, and our palms on Palm Sunday, though it is unlucky to bring one home earlier. (S. triandra).—Near the old church, Otterbourne. (S. rubra).
ROUND-LEAVED W. (S. aurita).
SALLOW W. (S. cinerea).
WHITE W. (S. alba). (S. fragilis).
DWARF W. (S. repens).—Bogs towards Baddesley.
OSIER W. (S. viminalis).—Ampfield.
JUNIPER (Juniperus communis).—Above Standon on Down.
YEW (Taxus baccata).—Scattered in hedges, or singly all over the chalk district.
REEDMACE (Typha latifolia).—Itchen. Noble plant, commonly, but incorrectly, called bulrush.
BUR-REED (Sparganium ramosum).—With fertile flowers like prickly balls.
LORDS-AND-LADIES or CUCKOO-PINT (Arum maculatum).—Showing their heads under every hedge. The lords have a red column, the ladies a white.
DUCKWEED (Lemna trisulca).
GREAT WATER PLANTAIN (Alisma Plantago).—Stately ornament of bogs.
THE LILY TRIBE
GARLIC (Allium ursinum).—On road to Baddesley.
CROW G. (A. vineale).—Chalk ridges, if not destroyed by waterworks.
FLAG (Iris pseudacorus).—Itchen banks.
STINKING F. (I. faetidissima).—Not common, but in two copses, one at Cranbury and the other on the north of King's Lane.
DAFFODIL (Narcissus Pseudonarcissus).—Dell Copse, which it covers with the glory of the "dancing daffodil"; also plantation near Romsey Road.
BLACK BRYONY (Tamus communis).—Wreaths of shiny leaves.
SOLOMON'S SEAL (Polygonatum multiflorum).—Cranbury Wood.
BUTCHER'S BROOM (Ruscus aculeatus).—Otterbourne Hill.
BLUEBELL (Hyacinthus nonscriptus).—Masses in the woods.
WOODRUSH (Luzula sylvatica).—Graceful brown blossoms.
PYRAMIDAL ORCHIS (Orchis pyramidalis).—Chalk-pit by Sparrow Grove.
FOOL'S O. (O. Morio).—Cranbury.
PURPLE O. (O. mascula).—Local name, Dead Man's Fingers.
ROMSEY O. (O. incarnata).—Itchen meadows.
BROAD-LEAVED O. (O. latifolia).—Itchen meadows.
SPOTTED O. (O maculata).
DWARF O. (O. ustulata).—Downs by South Lynch.
SWEET O. (Gymnadenia conopsea).—Itchen meadows.
BUTTERFLY O. (Habenaria bifolia).—Sparrow Grove.
BEE O. (Ophrys apifera).—Railway banks and South Lynch.
FLY O. (O. muscifera).—South Lynch Down.
LADY'S TRESSES (Spiranthes autumnalis).—Cranbury lawn, but fitful in appearing.
TWAYBLADE (Listera ovata).—In hedges and woods.
BIRD'S-NEST ORCHIS (L. Nidus-avis).—Only under beeches.
HELLEBORINE (Epipactis latifolia).—Here and there in hedges. (E. grandiflora).—Under beeches. (E. palustris).—Chalk-pit.
REEDS
BOGRUSH (L. campestris).—Little rush. (L. pilosa).—Ampfield Wood.
RUSH (Juncus conglomeratus).—The days of rush-lights are gone by, but rush-baskets for flowers and helmets are made by the children, and the white pith, when pressed, is made up into devices. (F. effusus) (F. glaucus) All in Itchen meadows. (F. acutiflorus) (F. squamosus)
BEAKRUSH (Rhynchospora fusca).
SINGLE BULRUSH (Scirpus lacustris). (S. sylvatica).—Marsh near Baddesley Road. (S. setaceus).
COTTON GRASS (Eriophorum angustifolium).—The soft cottony or silky heads are beautiful on the Itchen roads.
SEDGES (Carex pulicaris). (C. acuta).—Copses. (C. paniculata).—Itchen Canal. (C. riparia).—Dell Copse.
STAR SEDGE (C. stellulata).—Copses. (C. verna). (C. acuta).—A lovely black and yellow fringe to the Itchen Canal. (C. pallescens).—Damp places. (C. paludosa).—Banks of Itchen Canal. (C. sylvatica).—Cranbury. (C. remota).—Boyatt Lane.
GRASSES
SWEET MEADOW GRASS (Anthoxanthum odoratum).
CANARY G. (Phalaris canariensis).—A stray.
FOXTAIL G. (Alopecurus pratensis). (A. agrestis). (A. geniculatus).
CAT-TAIL G. (Phleum pratense).
DOG'S G. (Agrostis canina). (A. alba). (A. vulgaris).
REED (Arundo Phragmites).—Waving brown tassels, beautiful for adornments—Itchen banks, and hedge of allotments on Otterbourne Hill.
MILLET GRASS (Milium effusum).
HAIR G. (Aira flexuosa). (A. aespitosa).—Tufts on the hill, Otterbourne.
WILD OATS (Avena fatua).—Grown far more common than formerly. (A. strigosa). (A. pratensis). (A. flavescens).
SOFT GRASS (Holcus mollis).
MELICK (Melica caerulea).—Cranbury. (M. uniflora).—Dell Copse.
WHORL GRASS (Catabrosa aquatica).—The moat, Otterbourne. (Glyceria nutans).—The moat.
MEADOW G. (Poa rigida). (P. annua). (P. nemoralis). (P. pratensis). (P. trivialis).
QUAKER'S G. (Briza media). (B. minor).
DOG'S-TAIL G. (Cynosurus cristatus).
COCK'S-FOOT G. (Dactylis glomerata).
FESCUE (Festuca ovina). (F. pratensis). (F. lolacea).
BROME GRASS (Bromus giganteus).—Cranbury. (B. asper). (B. sterilis). (B. racemosus). (B. mollis). (B. arvensis).
COUCH G. (Triticum caninum). (T. repens).
RYE G. or MOUSE BARLEY (Lolium perenne).—Also Darnel.
FERNS, ETC.
BRACKEN (Pteris aquilina).—All over Cranbury.
HARD FERN (Blechnum boreale).—Mallibar Road between Albrook and Highbridge.
WALL-RUE (Asplenium Ruta-muraria).
BLACK MAIDENHAIR (A. Trichomanes).—Used to be on tombstones in old churchyard, Otterbourne.
LADY FERN (Athyrium Filix faemina).—Cranbury. (Ceterach officinale).—Merdon Castle.
HART'S TONGUE (Scolopendrium officinale). (Polystichum angulare).—Cranbury.
MALE FERN (Lastrea Filix-mas). (L. spinulosa). (L. dilatata).—Otterbourne Park. (L. thalipteris).—Cranbury.
HAY F. (L. Oreopteris).—Road to Baddesley.
POLYPODY (Polypodium vulgare).
ADDER'S TONGUE (Ophioglossum vulgare).—Field called Pleasure Grounds, Otterbourne.
HORSETAILS (Equisetum arvense). (E. maximum).
Footnotes:
{17} Hursley ceased to be a Peculiar about the year 1840.
{25} Hurstleigh, as it was originally spelt, is derived from Hurst, a wood, Legh or Lea, a meadow or open place in a wood.
{28} The General Biographer's Dictionary says 51 in all.
{32} So says the Register, but I suspect ERRONEOUSLY. Ardington was the place in which the family of Clarkes was settled. Sir Edward Clarke, probably the son of Sir Thomas, was High Sheriff of Berks in 1626 (Marsh).
{34} Halliwell's dictionary gives haydiggle (Somerset) as meaning high spirits, and once a country dance.
{36} From Father Gasquet's essay on the Recusants in The Old English Bible.
{53} Commentaries, vol. ii. p. 83, 8vo.
{54} See Commentaries, as before. N.B. Among the Garrows, a people of Hindostan, the youngest daughter inherits the property of her family. See Asiatic Researches, vol. iii. p. 34, 8vo.
{56} Blackstone's Commentaries, vol. ii. chap. v.
{57a} Blackstone's Commentaries, vol. ii. pp. 81, 85.
{57b} Sir Martin Wright is of opinion that Domesday-Book was made soon after our ancestors had agreed to tenures, i.e. the feodal system of tenure, for the purpose of ascertaining each man's fee; and he supposes that as soon as the survey was completed, the great landholders of the kingdom were summoned to London and Sarum to do homage to the king for their landed possessions. Now it may be presumed, that if Merdon had been then surrendered to the king, and any alteration made in the nature of the tenure of the lands in the manor, it would have been reported and registered in the book. But it certainly is not to be found there. May it not then be justly concluded that it was passed over, and that the customs now prevailing are the same as were in use previous to the Conquest?
{58} See Commentaries, vol. ii. pp. 48, 81.
{67} This word cannot be understood. It probably may be the name of a holding, or of a family.
{154} Robin Hood's butt, no doubt used for archery practice, lay on this down, called Rough Borrow.
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