SIR — I was interested to read Hilary Binding's account of William Dicker, master of Winsford School from 1889 to 1924 (Free Press April 13).

In 1979 I received a letter from Mr G N C Swift, then living in Carlisle, in which he told of his boyhood in Winsford where his father was vicar from 1912 until 1943.

The schoolmaster supplied the boy Swift with names for the wild flowers which he found and Mr Swift enclosed a copy of a list, compiled by Mr Dicker, of the flowers and ferns growing in and around Winsford in 1913.

Hilary Binding's thoughts ran in a familiar vein as shown by her comment "I wondered whether there are generally fewer wild flowers about today."

Acting on Mr Dicker's list, the Exmoor Natural History Society conducted a survey of the plants at Winsford in 1982 to see what changes had come about in 70 years.

Of the original list of 146 species 65 were seen in 1982 and a further 36 have been recorded in the area in recent years, which indicates a loss of about one third of the flora (with no account being taken of possibly reduced numbers of each species).

However, it is not a straightforward as that! Mr Dicker's list did not include the now common weeds of cultivated land, nor did it include grasses or trees.

Forty-nine new plants were recorded, which shows that although our flora is changing, the actual number of species is as good as ever on Exmoor.

Sadly, it is so often our native species which are lost and replaced by escapes from cultivation. This is not good for wildlife in general as often these species do not produce good pollen to feed bees or food for butterfly and other insect larvae which are often dependant on one particular plant.

May this letter therefore include a plea to all dwellers in the countryside to cherish any wayside bank which comes under their jurisdiction.

So often one sees garden daffodils or polyanthus planted in a country lane opposite a cottage, where a bank of wild primroses, violets, stitchwort, red campion, etc, would be very much more attractive and conserve an English flora which Mr Dicker would recognise.

Miss C J Giddens,

Secretary,

Exmoor Natural History Society.