REPORT OF A VISIT TO SANDA AND GLUNIMORE. 203 



up in front of the ruins of the old chapel. The little burial-place 

 occupies part of the ridge, the last named being breached to the 

 west of the chapel by a small stream. The sand is nearly all 

 covered with vegetation, and its tendency to further encroach- 

 ment is thus checked. 



Quite possibly it is to this sand-covered shore that the name of 

 the island is due. Sanda Roads, of which the bay is the inner 

 portion, was a favourite resort of the Norsemen seven to ten 

 centuries ago; and this island is quite likely to have been dis- 

 tinguished by them as the Sand ey, sand island, just as that at 

 the south end of Arran was called, from its flatness, Fladda, flat 

 island, altered by the Gael into Pladda. In the Orkneys there is 

 a Sanday, sand island ; and in the Hebrides Fladda still retains 

 its proper Norse spelling. In Arran the sandy shores of the bay 

 to the north of Corrie gave rise to the name Sannox = Sand vik, 

 sand bay. Another name for Sanda is Sandei^ey, which may 

 mean Sand eyrr ey^ Sand beach island, similar to Irland in Orkney 

 and Ireland in Shetland, both meaning beach island, layid being 

 the Korse name for a large island. 



PLANTS. — The subjoined list is, we believe, very incomplete, 

 as the time at our disposal on shore was limited. The flora 

 presented no unlooked-for features, but we were pleased to see 

 Juniper, which we do not recall having seen on Ailsa Craig, while 

 the abundance of the Sea Spleenwort and the luxuriance of 

 individual plants of this fern we have never seen equalled — 



Ranunculus repens, Linn. Ce^^astiurti glomeratum, 

 R. hidhosus, Linn. Thuillier. 



R. Ficaria, Linn. C. triviale, Link. 



Cardamine pratensis, Linn. Sagina procumbens, Linn. 



C. hirsuta, Linn. '^Spyergularia marina, Leb. 



Cochlearia officinalis, Linn. Geranium molle, Linn. 



Viola sylvatica, Fries. G. Robertianum, Linn. 



Polygala vulgaris. Linn. Frodiu?ncicutarhim,JJH.erit. 



Silene injlata, Sm. Ulex euroj^ceus, Linn. 



S. maritima. With. Trifolium, rej)e7is, Linn. 



Lychnis diiirna, Sibth. T. procumbens, Linn. 



'' On Glunimore. 



