Governors
We say goodbye to three Governors at the AGM, Nick Beale, George Elsbury and Christopher South. Nick is a CPS Ranger at Wandlebury and his presence on our Board helped with the deliberations in the appointment of a Ranger, drawing on his personal experience. We wish him well and know that we will often see him on the Down as part of the contracted CPS Ranger service.George Elsbury first became an observer through his South Cambs roles as both District Councillor and then Chairman. His knowledge, and contacts within local Government, helped on many occasions. George would now like to take a well deserved rest from committee work. We extend our grateful thanks to him for his work including in the role of Chairman. George’s contribution will continue as a Member of the Trust.
Christopher South has been with the Magog Trust since its inception; it was his vision, along with that of Colin Davison, that culminated in the formation of the Company and the purchase of the land. His support has been of inestimable value, through his wide contacts, his role as broadcaster and journalist and his wise and considered words; the campaign to buy ‘GOGs’ caught the imagination of his readership. Chris will maintain his links with The Magog Trust through his role as President and we hope it will be a long and happy one.
Kathleen Foreman
Butterflies on the Down:
good news, bad news
Last summer had long periods of rain and this
summer has been worse. I was afraid that our butterflies, many of which are
declining dramatically, would suffer badly. We shall have to wait for analysis
of the results sent to the Butterfly Monitoring Scheme by recorders such as
Jenny and Doug Taylor on Magog Down. However, a few species are doing
conspicuously well.
The bigger brown butterflies, the Meadow Brown
and the Gatekeeper, have been abundant on the Down this summer. The Ringlet,
with its Olympic rings, has become more common in East Anglia, and did very
well this year. Skippers, small and Essex, were around in good numbers as was
the Small Heath. This is not surprising because the caterpillars of these
grassland butterflies feed on common grasses, often overwintering tucked up
among the grass stems. Lush grass would have suited them. In addition, the
larger Brown butterflies are able to fly in cooler, cloudier weather, absorbing
heat through their darker wings, while the skippers, with their shorter, stubby
bodies, appear to be less dependent on high temperatures. However, the beautiful gleaming Common Blue male and its brown female has been much less abundant than usual both on the Down and on other sites. There seem to be fewer Peacocks and Red Admirals in and around Cambridge every year. The Small Tortoiseshell, heavily parasitised by a small ichneumon wasp, has almost become a rarity, and with the endless west wind bringing more rain, there have been no clouds of Painted Ladies from Africa to cheer us all up.
(Continued on page 3)
| Instead, news of a possible new resident: Marbled Whites have
again been seen on the Down and nearby, allowing us the hope that they will
establish themselves there. All they need is a site with a good mix of grasses
and lots of flowers, especially knapweed and scabious.
Julia Napier |
 Marbled WhiteDrawn by Graham Easy |
WILD FLOWERS OF MAGOG DOWN -
35
Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)
A member of the Rose
family, agrimony is a common wayside plant which thrives on the light, chalky
soils of Magog Down. An upright perennial, two to three feet high, it has
pinnate, softly hairy leaves and terminal spikes of yellow, five-petalled
flowers, 5-8 mm in diameter, which are pollinated by bees and flies. Its fruits
are enclosed in thickened, more or less conical calyx-tubes.. The tops of the
tubes are fringed with hooked bristles which, if they catch in the fur of
passing animals, can be carried away from the parent plants, thus serving to
disperse the seeds. That they will also cling tightly to the clothes of passing
humans is supposed by some to account for the plant’s ancient name of
Philanthropos (= lover of man).(Continued on page 4)
Agrimony has a slightly aromatic scent reminiscent of apricots and the dried leaves have been used to give a delicate added flavour to tea. Gathered in September the plant yields a pale yellow dye; the dye produced from plants gathered later in the season colours wool a much deeper shade of yellow.
The 1st century Greek physician Dioscorides knew the agrimony as Eupatorion (hence the second part of its botanical binomial). The a name honours Mithradates Eupator (120 – 63 BC), the king of Pontus in Asia Minor who first introduced the plant into medicine. Dioscorides recommended its use against complaints of the liver, dysentery and snake-bite. The Anglo-Saxons sought to enhance its potency against snake-bites by mixing it in a salve with bistort and plantain, and the 17th century herbalist Nicholas Culpepper prescribed a decoction of the herb in wine for the same purpose. Culpepper thought very highly of agrimony, claiming that (amongst other things) it ‘helpeth the colic, cleanseth the breath … relieves the cough’ and ‘draweth forth thorns, splinters of wood, or any such things in the flesh’. The herb also found a use in late mediaeval warfare, being one of the ingredients of the eau arquebusade used to treat wounds inflicted by that early type of portable gun known as an arquebus.
To the best of my knowledge, agrimony is no longer used to cure snake bites (or, for that matter, arquebus injuries), but in modern herbalism it finds a place in the treatment of disorders of the stomach, intestine, gall bladder and (as in Dioscorides’ day) the liver. There is some evidence that extracts of it will inhibit certain bacteria and viruses, and gargling with an infusion of the plant is said to relieve throat infections.
In his book The Englishman’s Flora, Geoffrey Grigson tells us that “agrimony was one of the fifty-seven herbs in the Anglo-Saxon ‘Holy Slave’ used against goblins, evil and poisons”. Unfortunately he omits to say what the other fifty-six herbs were – and I just can’t get rid of those dratted goblins!
David Yarham
Pied Wagtails
As you walk round the Magog Down you are very likely to see pied wagtails. They are very active little birds, scuttling along, bobbing the tail up and down, and every so often darting into the air to catch an insect; they feed mainly on insects and their larvae and caterpillars.
Their habitat is widespread and varied - they
may be found in woodland or even in city centres; and seem to get used to human
beings, often approaching quite close. They are easy to identify, black on top
and tail, white around the face and belly. Their song is rather twittery and
call note is a sharp “chizzick”. Nest places are very varied, any
crack or crevice will suffice, or a hole in a bank, wall or shed, even in farm
machinery or thatched roofs; nests are made out of twigs, moss, grass, dead
leaves, and the eggs (usually 5 or 6) are greyish-blue in colour, laid any time
between April and June. They often have two broods.Pied wagtails also like to forage around mountain streams or close to ponds and lakes where insects abound; many are resident birds all the year through, though some do emigrate southwards. So keep a close eye for these attractive birds – I read somewhere that some countryfolk give them the equally attractive name of “Polly dishwasher!”
Mike Antcliff
Eric Gordon Winterflood MBE
A small copse of Wild Service Trees (Sorbus torminalis, sometimes known as the Chequer Tree) is to be planted later in the year as a tribute to the work of Eric on the Magog Down. There is one Wild Service Tree planted already on the site, a donation, which gave him particular delight. These are native medium deciduous trees with brown berries, rather rare and are believed to be long lived, a little like Eric himself! The site chosen for the planting is in the picnic area, near where he was invested with his MBE. We hope members of the family can be with us next year, to unveil a memorial plaque.Magog Down Survey
In March and August volunteers undertook a survey on the Down. The questionnaire was designed to discover why people visit the Down and their views and comments will assist the Magog Trust’s governors in future planning and management of the Down. A follow up count of visitors was undertaken in August. There are around 200 visits daily to the Down, regardless of the weather. On warm weekends, that number increases dramatically, requiring access to the overspill car-parking. While dog walking is the most common activity, families, kite flyers and joggers are also regular users. Of the regular users less than 30% are Trust members. The survey highlights the need for a greater understanding about the Trust’s management and why different areas of the Down have differing rules. Regular updates of the notice board will occur to address this. FOR CONSERVATION AND INFORMAL PUBLIC RECREATION |
| For further
information: Write to: Verger's Cottage, 1 Gog Magog Way, Stapleford, Cambridge, CB22 5BQ. Phone: 07796 471457 Email: Website: www.magogtrust.org.uk |
| Registered Company No:
2426534 Registered Charity No: 802150 |