22S 



HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



with an armed party followed the remnants of the 

 Irish, who were led by two chieftains, on to the 

 island, the latter entrenching themselves at this spot, 

 where they were besieged by the English. Soon, 

 however, dissensions broke out in the camp of the 

 Irish, one chief wishing to surrender, and the other to 

 hold out, till at last they came to blows. The 

 English captain, taking advantage of this, slew all, 

 except five, who hid themselves in the rocks. On 

 this spot is also situated the " Wishing Stone," a 

 granitic overhanging pinnacle, about two hundred 

 and eighty-two feet above the sea. 



Geologically speaking, the island is interesting 

 as one of the outlying pinnacles of the ancient 

 continental mass, which originally extended out in 

 this direction ; but it is slowly and surely 

 disappearing under the combined influences of the 

 weather and sea. At the north-east corner is a 

 remarkable narrow mass jutting into the sea for 

 about two cables, called Tormore, the outer end of 

 which is one of the highest points in the island, and it 

 is so narrow that only an experienced climber can go 

 along the top of it to the outer cliff. On the top 

 are several weather pinnacles left, called " the 

 chimneys," and here the " weathering " of the granite 

 can be well studied ; the granite splitting up into 

 large cubes first, and these into smaller, and so on, 

 until in places small pieces can be removed by the 

 hand. I noticed three varieties of granite, a coarse- 

 grained, a medium-grained of a greenish colour, and 

 a fine-grained. 



The island is chiefly covered with a fine grass of a 

 mossy nature, which makes a good peat, and in 

 places is quite boggy ; and this is thickly strewn with 

 wild flowers, chiefly daisies, buttercups, and two 

 kinds of a flowering moss, one with a red flower, the 

 other with a blue flower, and very similar to what is 

 found at many seaside-places in England ; there are 

 also several kinds of ferns, and in the little pools 

 the water-crowfoot grows plentifully ; animals are 

 scarce — only a few rabbits. Of birds there were 

 rock-pipits, rooks, jackdaws, and pigeons, sometimes 

 peregrine falcons. Sea-birds were very numerous, 

 common black-faced and black-backed gulls, shags, 

 cormorants, gannets, petrels, puffins, guillemots, and 

 razor-bills. On the cliffs, particularly about 

 Tormore, the birds build in immense numbers, and it 

 is curious to note how the different species keep to 

 themselves. For instance, one strip of the cliff from 

 top to base will be occupied by puffins, another strip 

 by guillemots, another by gulls, and so on, the gulls 

 taking the most inaccessible strips, while the puffins 

 take the easist of access. At one place I succeeded 

 in climbing quite close to a pufiin-rookery, and 

 obtaining a photograph of the birds. When 

 startled from the cliffs they fly up in thousands. 

 Some of the islanders are very expert climbers, and 

 take the eggs, storing them in their hats to bring 

 them down. 



Fish is plentiful : mackerel, halibut, and flounders, 

 chiefly. There are also many lobsters ; and the 

 fisheries would well bear developing, and might 

 become a source of considerable income to the 

 inhabitants had they modern appliances and means 

 of getting the fish away. They have a few boats, 

 and also use a curious little thing like a coracle, but 

 called by them a "curragh," made of bent sticks, 

 and covered with hide, which floats on the water like 

 a bladder, but can only be used in very fine weather. 



Limpets and mussels are common, and much eaten 

 by the inhabitants ; there are also acorn-shells and 

 periwinkles. The common sea-anemone is very 

 plentiful, and there are a few small corals and 

 polyzoce. 



Now that the island is connected to the mainland 

 by telegraph-cable (the Duchess of Abercorn opened 

 the line on August 26th, and sent the first message to 

 the Queen), we may possibly hear more about it. 

 Not only should it be a valuable reporting-station for 

 ships, but also a capital station for making obser- 

 vations on the movements of the upper clouds, and 

 so giving warning of the approach of storms. 



David Wilson-Barker. 



66, Gloucester Crescent, 

 Rezenfs Park. 



THE LEAF GLANDS OF PINGUICULA. 



THE forms of hairs, glands, and other growih 

 with which numberless plants are clothed are 

 in themselves a sufficiently interesting study, but the 

 more especially so in view of the information afforded 

 us by Darwin, as to the uses of some of these orgaus 

 in securing nourishment from sources at one time 

 little suspected. 



That the vegetable world derived sustenance 

 from the inorganic components of the air, the earth, 



mj) 



Fig. 127. — X 120. 



and the waters under the earth, was a matter of 

 common knowledge and continuous study, but the 

 discovery that some of its members had constituted 

 themselves counterparts of the Carnivora in the 

 animal world was something new. 



Readers of Science-Gossip will be aware that 

 insects, &c, caught by the viscid secretion of the 

 leaves of the sun-dews, butterworts and others, do 

 not merely remain until decay takes place, but 

 are actually digested, the function being performed 



