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THE ESSEX NATURALIST
south-west, factories and vast housing estates have obliterated
most of the vegetation; streams and rivers have been piped and
built over or heavily polluted. In 1851 all but a small remnant
of the extensive Hainault Forest was ripped out by steam engines
with giant anchors and the area cultivated.
Thus the general picture of the changes in the Essex country-
side has been one of successive extensions in the area under
cultivation followed by temporary declines and recolonisation by
semi-natural vegetation; most of the area having been clear felled
at some time or other in the past, with extensive coppicing of the
trees by the commoners exercising their lopping rights in the
regenerated patches of woodland. Heathlands redeveloped on the
drier gravels whenever these fell out of cultivation and some of
these are now preserved as commons. Large areas, including re-
claimed coastal marshes were at one time enclosed as sheep and
cattle pastures and now, today, virtually the whole county is
enclosed into fields excepting a few small woods, private park-
lands, the urban areas, a handful of commons on the poorer sandy
soils and the forests of Epping, Hatfield, and Hainault.
From the list of bryophyte species found to-day in the remain-
ing ditches and hedgerows it would appear that these resembled
the original forest habitats sufficiently for transfer to have taken
place as the majority of the county became enclosed into hedge-
bound fields. These were planted to demarcate the fields, fence
stock in or out, and serve as a source of timber; oaks and elms
often being allowed to grow to maturity or, with other species,
were coppiced at intervals for poles and firewood. Although exten-
sive, drainage was not excessive and the decline in agriculture
following the movement of labour to the industrial north and the
importation of cheap food came in time to save numerous
marshes, small woods and wet valleys which continued to provide
habitats for interesting bryophyte species.
With the increase in the population in the south-east of the
country the supply of water has been exceeded by the demand
and the water table has been gradually falling all over the county.
Straightening and dredging of the rivers and watercourses has
permitted efficient overall drainage and a highly sophisticated
agricultural economy with some 60% of its income coming from
government subsidies has encouraged the rapid extension of arable
land, particularly during the last decade. In the north of the
county in particular hedgerows are being systematically uprooted,
and ditches piped and infilled, to prevent shading of the crops
and to facilitate mechanised cultivation and harvesting. The wide-
spread use of expensive machinery leads to a rapid harvest and
early autumn ploughing destroys those bryophyte species of
arable land maturing late in the autumn. Fallow fields formed
the main habitat for these species, but these disappeared with
the introduction of crop rotation and the availability of artificial
fertilisers several hundred years ago. Permanent pastures,
marshes, and water meadows are disappearing fast, most of the