The need of a new outlook on our countryside

OUTLOOK ON OUR COUNTRYSIDE.

63

This is an inopportune place to add species to Suffolk plants ; yet, for fear it should be overlooked, I will end by instancing Mr.' T. Dipnall's record of the rare Vetch, Vicia hybrida, Linn.

Of this he discovered a single plant growing in an arable field at Shelley on 6th July, 1919.

It finds no place in Hind's local " Flora," and has been noticed in no more than two other British localities. It differs slightly from the very uncommon V. lutea, Linn., which occurs only along our coast, at Brandon and formerly in Whitton churchyard (where it was doubtless, along with the bee Dasypoda hirtipes in Shrubland Park, a survival of the days when the adj acent Gipping River was estuarine), in having the Standard hairy and in its more acute leaflets ; and in these points the Royal Horticultural Society corroborated Mr. Dipnall's identification.

THE NEED OF A NEW OUTLOOK ON OUR COUNTRYSIDE. B Y THE R E V . A . P . W A L L E R ,

M.A.

ALL lovers of the English landscape must welcome and rejoice at the many efforts, being made in various directions, to stem the rushing" torrent of vandalism ; or, perhaps I should say, of that commercial enterprise, which is sweeping our Countryside. In its heedless career, it threatens to carry away many delightful Beauty Spots and to destroy many picturesque ancient landmarks, links with the years that are gone, a priceless heritage of the past.

We have a duty to the generations that are yet to come, as well as to ourselves ; and the narrow view, of those who forget this in their grasp for gain, is much to be deplored. We have little use for the man who cuts trees down and plants none to take their place, saying " it would do htm no good ! " However, public opinion in this matter is steadily moving in the right direction. Also, there is another heritage and constant source of pleasure in our land : the wealth of its natural Fauna and Flora, which must not be overlooked. This, and the interest of it too, are endangered by the changing habits and new conditions in which we find ourselves living to-day. Tarred roads leading everywhere do not, in themselves, encourage or help either plant or insect life. Moreover, they convey modern transport and altered, though hardly improved, mentality into the most remote places. Even the wild honey-

64

OUTLOOK ON OUR

COUNTRYSIDE.

suckle, the bluebell, cowslip and the primrose b u t more especially our rarer blossoms, cannot long stand the ever increasing demands that are made upon their stamina by teeming thousands, who find their way into all the most secluded corners and by-ways of the land.

Of course, he would be a selfish man who would wish this easy transport otherwise, or grudge the pleasure t h a t has been brought to so m a n y by the development of our novel facilities for travel. But my point is this : Even Nature's garden has its limits ; and, unless a new outlook is in some way created, ere long many of our rarer plants and birds and, perhaps, insects will have become extinct. Therefore, we need to foster a protective spirit a n d to discourage the wanton destruction, which is now so prevalent.

I do not here speak of legitimate collectors, for we cannot gain knowledge without obtaining material on which to work ; besides, the genuine Naturalist is usually the person of all others most anxious to preserve those forms of life t h a t happen to be his study.

It is flagrant, wanton waste that must be condemned.

I have seen roads strewn with Bluebells (Scilla nutans, Linn.) and other wild-flowers, many of them plucked up by the roots : pulled u p and gathered for no purpose whatever.

Legislation in some measure protects our bird life ; but many of our smaller feathered friends have their homes ruthlessly torn down and scattered, through crass ignorance.

Certain birds, and animals too, suffer through " a bad reputation."

Thus, the beautiful Magpie (Pica rustica, Scop.) flourished along the banks of the Deben fifty years ago, but has long been extinct in the district* ; and other kinds may soon leave us in the same way.

The Hedgehog (Erinaceus Europceus, Linn.), one of our harmless quadrupeds, is fast disappearing ; he is accused of a partiality for eggs and the last I saw h a d been slain at Frostenden, despite the most probable fact t h a t he more t h a n " makes good " b y the enormous amount of insectpests t h a t he invariably devours.

I t would be distinctly sad to see this interesting little animal entirely disappear from our woods and hedgerows.

Lady Robinson of Worksop Manor, writing to our Honorary Secretary, " hopes t h a t t h e Suffolk Naturalists' Society will * " T h o u g h c o m m o n e n o u g h in m a n y p a r t s of E n g l a n d , t h e M a g p i e is a r a r e b i r d in Suffolk a n d a l m o s t e x t i n c t as a b r e e d i n g species " (Tuck, 1911).

W e h a v e n e v e r seen it, in t h e course of a q u a r t e r - c e n t u r y , a t M o n k s ' S o h a m ; b u t were so f o r t u n a t e as t o o b s e r v e a small " c o l o n y " of t h r e e or f o u r Aying s o m e w h a t low across a field n e a r t h e r o a d t o Eleigh in Waldingfield P a r v a on 2nd O c t o b e r , 1929.

L e t u s h o p e t h o s e will n e s t in o u r C o u n t y n e x t s p r i n g . — E d .

OUTLOOK ON OUR COUNTRYSIDE.

65

stand for the preservation of Natural History objects," and mentions that even common wild-flowers are not nearly so abundant in Nottinghamshire as they were a few years ago.

She considers great härm is done to our Countryside by indiscriminate collecting by school-children and others, who are encouraged by their eiders to bring home large quantities of such flowers. I was much interested in this letter. Personally, however, I do not think the school-children are among the chief offenders ; but, on the contrary, that it is through our schools a partial remedy may be found.

Nothing is more delightful than to see, as I frequently do see, the school-room brightened by the hedgerow-blossoms, which the children have brought their teacher : this needs no discouragement.

Only, let the children be taught to treat Nature's garden with the same respect and care that they bestow upon their own, to love beauty and not destroy it.

Certainly a new outlook is necessary and a protective spirit needs to be fostered if, in face of the changing habits and customs of the age, we are still to retain so much that appeals to all who appreciate beauty.

More care must be taken of Nature's good things.

The spirit, which we display when we gather blossoms out of our dearly-loved and carefullytended personal plot, must become extended to the wider garden of the entire Countryside. And the new Outlook must, I think, come largely through education, the sympathetic education of the rising generation.