Mid Sussex Times October 15th 1982

HOW lovely it is to approach the wood from the Spinning Field, by the side of Cuckfield Park, and look back and see the spire of Holy Trinity church, fully reinstated. It now seems that we were never without it.

Then to look forward and see New England Wood, with its autumn tints, but to wonder what other changes have taken place, since the previous visit, realising that these will now be natural changes or controlled only in the interests of natural ones.

The present century has seen more changes and destruction of natural habitats, than at any other time in our history and while we realise, of course, that human needs have to be met, for man cannot “live by bread alone”, the countryside can be a source of great refreshment. We must hope that our wood will be just that.

Conservation has been described as the “maintenance of the flow of living energy”. Thus habitat, food chains, and the dependence of animals and plants on many factors and other living things, needs to be realised and their implications understood.

In the south east of England, much of the land is in an artificial state of growth as agriculture makes its claims and this encourages the growth of timber on soils not suitable for agriculture. This must necessarily have a great influence on the countryside and its wild life.

The improvement, protection and conservation of our wood as a broad-leafed woodland, is therefore very important and exciting. Woodlands are the country’s natural climax, giving shelter and food to a wide variety of animal life. The exciting part about this is that you never know what you may come across, from the smallest to the greatest.

In a wood trees dominate and influence the community, since the degree of light that filters through the canopy, in the main, controls the woodland plants. These plants flourish because of shelter given against drying winds and extremes of temperature.

Soil erosion is prevented by tree roots and the accumulation of leaf litter gives nourishment, while the trees retain moisture. These beneficial factors help to maintain a rich flora and the shade tolerant mosses, ferns and fungi, the latter being most interesting decaying agents. In essence the vegetation controls the animal life as it is at the bottom of the food chains.

I rarely seem to come across a frog, except in late February and early March when they are coming out of hibernation and making their way to water for the purpose of breeding. It is not known for certain how they are directed to the breeding area, but it has been suggested that it is by the scent from the alga, which is the food required by the tadpoles.

More recently, however, opinion seems to suggest that navigation is by using the sun in the daytime and the stars at night.

Today, in the vicinity of the stream at the southern end of the wood, a common frog, Rana temporaria, family Ranidae, sat quietly amongst the leaves and was not disturbed by my presence. Maybe this was due to the approach of hibernation.

They hibernate in soft mud at the bottom of ponds or water filled ditches. Their lungs are not used during this period, but oxygen is absorbed through the skin. However, before maturity they do not live under water but in a hole on land.

A frog has a smooth skin, with many small smooth warts, these being minute mucous glands and they keep the skin moist. In colour they are very variable, the basic colour being yellowish green, spotted and streaked with brown, but the variation is according to the situation in which it is found.

This was why this frog was quite dark, being in a woody situation, quite well camouflaged, amongst the leaves.

The pigment cells of the frog’s skin are influenced by varying light intensities, and in this respect it is similar to a chameleon but the speed of change is much slower. There is a similarity to a lizard in that it has eyelids.

The action of the tongue is such that it whips round the prey thus giving a temporary grip. The forelimbs are short compared with the hind ones. Their diet comprises slugs, earthworms and snails, complete with shells.

INSECTICIDES

Their enemies are many, but the grass snake is possibly the chief one. It is hoped that anyone who is in a position to encourage frogs, will do so, as they are reducing in numbers, partly due to insecticides, but also through ponds being filled in.

While walking through the wood I came across an axe head, in an oak, and reflected on how long it had been there and whether it was an old head, suitable for the “Cuckfield Museum”. My conclusion was that it had not been in the tree long and that it was comparatively modern.

I removed it and the words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson came to mind from his poem, “The Talking Oak” — “May never saw dismember thee, nor wielded axe disjoint”. Maybe it was a good omen, for the guilty person broke his axe handle.

Spindly foot, Collybia fusipes was growing in groups at the base of both oak and beech trees. The caps were a dark reddish brown, but they can vary, being paler when dry and almost liver coloured, when wet.

The gills were reddish brown and had a tendency to be a little blotchy, while the furrowed stipes were a similar colour to the caps, but rather darker at the base. There is a slightly fragrant spicy smell about them, said to resemble a lavender and cinnamon mix.

This fungus persists for many years and has a mycorrhizal association with the roots of the tree