70 THE FIELD NATURALIST'S KNOWLEDGE.
furnishes soils suited to every British timber tree, and with the south
country climate of the county suited to every British plant.
Thus Essex presents scenes which, though not very bold and
striking, are beautiful and diversified as well as highly interesting
to the naturalist. The contiguity of the marshland to the great
water-way, the Thames, and the use made of this area for roads and
railways from the metropolis, have given to not a few a quite incor-
rect impression of the scenic features of the county, the beauty of
the interior not being known to thousands who are familiar with the
marshes.
The meteorology or peculiar climate of the county exerts, how-
ever, its influence. The difference between the vegetation of Essex
with its smaller rainfall and more sunshine,. and that of Devonshire
with its greater rainfall and more cloud is considerable. The
abundance of fungi in the one county and the abundance of ferns
in the other is one illustration : the earlier ripening of corn in the
eastern county is another.
With a diversified Flora and good climatal conditions, a diversi-
fied insect and avian fauna will be found, and with the position of
the county, looking across the German Ocean to the continent,
migratory birds in large quantities will be periodical visitors.
If again we for a moment consider the structure of England and
Wales we shall see that the climate of Essex is by no means
unconnected with geology also. The geological map of England
and Wales shows to us that the hard Palaeozoic rocks are in the
west and the soft Cainozoic rocks are in the east. Thus also the
high lands are as a consequence in the west, and the low lands in the
east. As the prevailing moisture-charged west winds from the
Atlantic pass over the high lands they are despoiled of much of
their moisture and reach the east of England comparatively dry,
and thus is accounted for the greater rainfall and more cloud of the
western counties, and the smaller rainfall and more sunshine of
East Anglia.
Furthermore, had hard rocks instead of the Chalk formed the
connecting land between what is now Great Britain and the conti-
nent, this might still be continental land, in which case Essex,
with a sea open only to the north, would have had a more extreme
climate than it now enjoys.
Enough has, I trust, been said to show even to those who have