Nature watch, with Ron freethy

THE wildlife in an old limestone quarry is surprisingly rich.

The old workings at Salthill, near Chatburn, have been developed as a geological and natural history trail.

The partners have been Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Castle Cement.

I have always been keener on natural history than geology but, because limestone areas have fascinating wildlife associated with them, I have a great interest in old quarries.

I found lots of marjoram growing in the old quarry and this is a most fascinating plant.

The old herbalists regarded marjoram as a cure-all.

They made marjoram "tea" using the dried leaves.

This was used to cure indigestion, bladder trouble, dropsy, earache and coughs.

The old settlers, known to the Americans as the Pilgrim Fathers, exported marjoram and it now thrives in America where it is still used as a medicinal plant.

I also found a robin's pincushion gall growing on bramble.

Galls are caused by small wasps (gall wasps) laying their eggs inside buds.

The plant then grows a gall to isolate the egg and seal it off from the rest of the sensitive tissues of the bud.

When the gall is large enough for the insect to feed off, the plant stops the growth.

Scientists are interested in two things. Firstly, they want to know what chemical starts the growth because this is a type of cancer.

Secondly, they want to know which chemical stops the growth because this is could be used as a cure for cancer.

Limestone areas are also excellent habitats for snails because they need lime in ordered to grow their shells properly.

At Salthill Quarry I found a very good thrush's "anvil".

Thrushes bang snails against a stone, thus breaking the shell.

The bird then eats the soft flesh inside the shell.

In a sheltered area among the tall grasses I found the scarlet berries of lords and ladies.

These berries are poisonous and the golden rule for all who study the countryside is do not each anything unless you know it is safe.

In the old days people used the roots of lords and ladies, which they dried then ground into a powder used as a starch in their washing.

Around Salthill there are interpretation boards explaining the history and importance of limestone in the Clitheroe area over a period of more than 500 years.

There is also a lesson to be learned here about the days when the area was covered in a shallow sea.

There are fossils of sea-creatures, proving that global warming is not a new concept.

Sea levels millions of years ago were much higher and wherever you find limestone you realise this.

Limestone is composed of the compressed bodies of creatures such as crinoids.

These can be seen at Salthill and other limestone quarries.

We should follow the same rules with fossils as those which apply to animals and plants.

Look at them and enjoy them but leave them alone for others to share your interest.

Take photographs and do not take a hammer to chip away at them.