HARD WICKE' S SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



199 



motion can hardly be conceived, and the size seemed 

 to me remarkable for the littoral of the southern 

 English coast. It was amusing to compare the 

 progression of the brittle stars and star-fishes with 

 the more deliberate movements of the sea-urchin. 



Even while I write these notes I have a basin 

 crowded with a host of unidentified creatures. One 

 sea anemone has an elongated, slender, orange-red 

 body two inches high, crowned by a mass of filiform, 

 white tentacula ; another small fellow, half buried in 

 sand, with white ribs externally on a greyish-pink 

 body, and short annulated tentacula, may be A. 

 gemmacea. There are clusters of ova without 

 number, larval forms of crabs, worms such as the 

 Spirorbis and Terebellum, a Chiton and other queer 

 beasts in full activity. I suppose there are those who 

 have mastered the life-history of each and every one 

 of these marine animals ; but most of us with only a 

 few days at a time by the sea-side can merely touch 

 the borders of the subject and admire the fairy king- 

 dom of the exquisite pools. Of this, however, I am 

 quite certain, those who give the Salcombe estuary a 

 trial will not come away empty handed or disap- 

 pointed ; there is almost too much to be gathered in 

 the rocky tidal pools. 



From a fresh bottle full of debris I have just 

 discovered another batch of zoophytes including the 

 rare Beania mirabilis, a single specimen of Tubularia 

 dumortierii, Hippothoa catenalaria, Anguinaria spatu- 

 lata, Campanularia volubilis, with half-a-dozen others. 

 Actinia bellis is on the rocks, but can hardly be 



removed alive. 



C. Parkinson, F.G.S. 



A WEEK'S HOLIDAY IN THE SOUTH OF 

 FRANCE. 



A LITTLE village situated on the national route, 

 and about a couple of miles from the river 

 Rhone, has been my headquarters for the following 

 excursions, which, with one exception, were made 

 within a short distance. 



The place is a beautiful hunting-ground for 

 botanists, for it lies between the ramifications of the 

 Alps and the river banks of the Rhone. The climate 

 is known as that of morel and fig trees. Formerly 

 plenty of silk-worms used to be reared ; less so now 

 because of the disease. 



The soil is of alluvian character, stony and sandy 

 in some places, very dry in summer time, crossed by 

 many torrents, where water is only to be found in 

 wet seasons, or after tempests. 



The vegetation is accordingly very varied, forming 

 a transition between Alpine and flat-land plants on 

 one hand, and northern and true southern plants on 

 the other. 



The botany of this place is very little known ; there 

 is no special flora for the whole county (Drome), 

 and I fear no botanist of note has ever visited it. 



Many an interesting plant is to be found, if one 

 has time enough to make careful search ; still, in half 

 a dozen rambles I have collected over one hundred 

 and eighty different species of uncommon plants, and 

 this is, I think, a respectable number. 



Just taking a walk the day of my arrival at my 

 father's farm, I picked up Ornithogalum umbellatum, 

 Neslia paniculata, Bunias erucago, Ajuga chamapitys, 

 Iberis pimtata (very abundant), Reseda phyteuma 

 (rather early for it), Bromits maximus — all the above in 

 a corn-field ; and in a piece of lucern by its side there 

 was a broom rape rather abundant, which puzzled 

 me at first ; at last it turned out to be Orobanchc 

 rubens. 



In a wet meadow, where a little brook was quietly 

 flowing, I found Carex tomentosa, panicea, distans, 

 ampulacea, Orchis laxijlora, Zatifolia, maculata, 

 Linum angnstifolium. The vineyard of a stony 

 nature furnished me with Hutchinsia pctrcca, Mibora 

 verna, Seneciogallicus, Pterotheca nemausensis, Cynodon 

 dactylon. This last is the pest of the country, growing 

 everywhere in great abundance ; it flowers rarely, and 

 is known to the countrymen as "Chien-dent" (Engl. 

 = Couch-grass), although the true couch-grass is 

 Criticum repens. The following day I went a little 

 farther on, by the side of a dry torrent bed. The first 

 thing I met with was Aristolochia rohcnda, growing 

 in patches under dwarf willows, then Ophrys 

 aranifera (Huds. var.), pseudo speculum, mixed with 

 Loroglossum hircinum. Genista scorpius was then 

 secured ; it is a low bush, looking like a gorse, and 

 very prickly too, growing on all dry stony boulders. 

 The pretty rush-like Aphyllanthcs monspeliensis 

 grew in big clumps in many places, mingled with 

 Astragalus glyciphyllos. Under the shade of white 

 locust-trees stood upright Euphorbia latliyris, E. 

 Gerardiana ; and by their side, Thlaspi perfoliata. On a 

 dry stony bank a little further on, furnished here and 

 there with varnish-trees, I found growing together 

 Scrophularia canina, Fumaria procumbens, Coronilla 

 minima, Argyrolobium Linneanum, Dorycnium 

 suffruticosum, Carex precox, Asperula arvensis. The 

 remains of an old wall was clothed on the north side 

 with Ceterach offici?iaricm, Aspleinum trichomanes, 

 A. Ruta-nmraria ; on the top stood here and there 

 Euracasirum obtusaugulum. In a grassy corner 

 there was the pretty Trifolium stellalum, further a 

 few Orchis simia. The last find was a bold Linum, 

 L. narbonnense, in a hole among the stones of the 

 torrent. 



The next day I went on the side of the Rhone, 

 upon an islet formed by a branch of the river ; there, as 

 well as all along the sides of the river, the soil is more 

 or less pure grey sand washed by the waters, the trees 

 and bushes consisting chiefly of poplars, alders, and 

 willows of different species. 



An ample harvest was made in a few hours. I 

 found again, and still more plentiful, Orobanche 

 rubens upon Medic roots, about six different 



