for upward of a mile, and then declining to the ocean. This flat ground is nearly half a mile in width between the hills, and in its summit only rises, according to the best information I could acquire, about eighteen inches above the highest floods in the river; which in this part do not exceed ten feet

perpendicular height. The summit is a moory

earth for about four feet in depth, and sand for some feet below it. The fall from thence to the road from Hackness to Scarborough, and onward to the Scalby road, appears to be moderate; and to within less than half a mile of the Whitby road seems not to be so steep as to make the water ungovernable that might be brought through this pass; thenceforward it becomes steeper, and the vale narrower, so that the rivulet running through it, has, by its meandering torn down the brows of the high ground into precipices, and has, in fact, been more destructive than a river, whose reflection, if even left to itself, would not be so frequent. The proposed course of the river would pass the mills above the Whitby road. Below is a mill in disuse, and one in good repair close to the sea, near to which the vale on both sides is bounded by rocks."

Scalby is, what Leland would call, "a praty thoroughfare" for Hackness. At the west end of the village, a road turns off which ultimately

"Descends into the opening glade"

of Hackness, so celebrated in this neighbourhood. It be considered a new road, having been formed only about twenty years, by the late Sir Richard

may

G

Vanden Bempdè Johnstone, Bart., the proprietor of Hackness, at about £600 expense.

The Lordship was enclosed by Act of Parliament in 1771.

PLANTS.

which have been observed in the neighbourhood of Scalby, from the Catalogue of Mr. Travis, Surgeon, Scarborough.

Pinguicula vulgaris. Common Butterwort. Bogs. below Seamer-Moor. May.

Eriophorum vaginatum. Single-headed Cottongrass. High Moors. May-June.

Cornus suecica. Dwarf Honey-suckle. Hole of Horcum, on the Moors. June-July. Campanula latifolia. Broad-leaved Bell-flower. Lanes near Hackness. July-August.

Viola odorata. Var. White Violet. Hills near Peasholm. March-April.

Narcissus pseudo-narcissus. Common Daffodil. Rain-cliff. Cloughton Newlands. March-April. Narthecium Ossifragum. Lancashire Asphodel. Bogs on the Moors. July-August.

Trientalis europæa.

Chickweed Wintergreen. East side of Seamer-Moor. May-June.

Daphne leaureola. Spurge Laurel. Near Peas

holm. March-April.

Pyrola rotundifolia. Round-leaved Wintergreen.

North side of Seamer-Moor.

July.

Pyrola minor. Lesser Wintergreen. East side of

Seamer-Moor. July.

Chrysosplenium oppositifolium. Opposite leaved Sengreen. Raincliff-Wood. April-May. Saxifraga granulata. White Saxifrage. Valley beyond Chapman's pasture. May.

Arenaria peploides.

Sea Chickweed. North

sand, near Scalby Beck. June-July.

Prunus padus. Bird Cherry. Banks of the Der

went, near Hackness. May.

Rosa Spinosissima. Burnet-Rose.

bottom of Raw-brow. June.

Near the

Bunias cakile. Sea Rocket. North-sand, near

Scalby Beck. July-August.

Cardamine amara. Bitter Cuckoo-flower. Near Ayton Forge. May.

Geranium columbinum. Long-stalked Cranesbill. Near Ayton-Forge. July-August.

Polygala Vulgaris. Milkwort. Seamer-Moor. June-July.

Lathyrus sylvestris. Narrow-leaved Pea-EverWood beyond Chapman's Pasture.

lasting.

August.

Vicia sylvatica.

Wood Vetch. Wood beyond Chapman's Pasture; near Ayton-Forge; &c. July-August.

Astragalus hypoglottis. Purple Liquorice-Vetch.

York Road, three miles and a half from Scarborough. June-July.

Hypericum pulchrum. Upright St. John's Wort. Hay-Brow. June.

Cnicus eriophorus. Woolly-headed Thistle. Hack

ness Road, near Suffield. August-September. Gnaphalium dioicum. Cat's Foot Cudweed. Seamer-Moor, June.

Solidago virgaurea. Golden Rod. Seamer-Moor. August.

Orchis bifolia. Butterfly Orchis. Moors. MayJuly.

Ophrys Nidus avis. Bird's-nest Ophrys. Hackness Woods. April-May.

Ophrys ovata. Common Tway-blade. Wood near the Forge. May-June.

Ophrys cordata. Least Tway-blade.

Moor. June-July.

Seamer

Bryonia Dioica. Bryony. Raincliff-wood. June. Empetrum nigrum. Black Crowberry. SeamerMoor. April-May.

Myrica gale. Sweet Gale. Moors. May-June. Equisetum hyemale. Shave-grass. Near AytonForge. August-September.

Osmunda regalis. Flowering Fern. Near Ayton

Forge. August-September.

Lycopodium clavatum.

Moor. August.

Lichen Islandicus. Iceland Liverwort. Seamer

Moor. October.

POPULATION.-The Population of Scalby, according to the last Census, taken in the year 1821, was

446.

ANCIENT CUSTOMS AND AMUSEMENTS.

Most of the ancient customs described in my History of Filey are also retained here; those belonging to Christmas are the most prominent:

"The village now, from noise remote,
Breathes but the harmonizing note
Of gladness, which with pride we see
Reflected from each rustic face,
That mirror of simplicity

Whence joy shines with peculiar grace;
While deck'd each window is with green,
Enlivening the winter scene.

As neighbours, friendly neighbours meet,
Their complimenting wishes greet;
"A merry Christmas," "Happy year,"
Impartially accosts the ear.

Youth, age, and ranks alike bestow

Boon pleasure's realized glow."+

In addition to the Christmas manners detailed in the History just alluded to, may be mentioned that here the Village Choristers assemble on Christmas eve, and remain out the whole night, singing at the principal houses.

Old Midsummer-day is, at Scalby, a kind of gala time, when "The Sports," as they are termed, take place, consisting of the most rustic description of amusements, such as Donkey-racing, &c. and when Booths are erected for the accommodation of the several visitors, and the village presents a motley fair-like appearance.

The celebration of 'The Sports' of the different villages in the county of York has probably arisen from the dedication of the church, and these sports are most likely a corruption of "The Wake" of the midland counties. We say corruption, for there, the

+ Moxon's 'Christmas.'