160 Mr Arnott's Tour to the South of France 



have named it the Island of Statices : — ^S*^. aristata, auriculce- 

 Jblia, diffusa, Jerulacea, monopetala, oleifolia, and reticulata, are 

 mentioned as natives of it, and indeed we found all of these. 

 Several Euphorbias, Astragalus massiliensis, Scorzonera par- 

 viflora, and Juncus Gerardi (J. ccenosus, Bich. and Sm.), were 

 among the others we gathered. In the evening, we descended 

 along the east side of the canal, and slept at La Nouvelle, a 

 dirty village, where we could scarcely get any thing to eat (not 

 even fish), and dared not complain, the lady of the house using 

 her tongue so nimbly as to keep us all in order. A bad sup- 

 per aad a scolding hostess were not sufficient inducements for 

 us to remain here another day ; so the next morning at day- 

 break we began our return to Narbonne. We examined all on 

 the west side of the canal, and obtained better specimens of 

 many species we collected yesterday. Passerina dioica here 

 formed thickets, and in the intervals we observed some poor 

 specimens of Evax pygmaus, Laflingia hispanica, Bupleurum 

 glau£um : of Tamarix qfricana. Reseda alba, and Donax mait^ 

 ritanicus, we found a few specimens, besides several others of 

 less note, that it is unnecessary to mention. Although we had 

 every reason to be satisfied with our excursion to this island, 

 there is no doubt but one would more successfully visit it, either 

 somewhat earlier or later : the small plants, as the Evax and 

 Laflingia, had suffered much from the heat ; and the larger 

 ones, as the Statices, are scarcely enough advanced until the 

 beginning of June. The Isle St Lucie was lately an island se- 

 parated by the sea from a long narrow neck of land. Whilst 

 they brought the canal, a branch of the Grand Canal of Lan- 

 guedoc, down this part, it was no difficult matter to complete 

 the isthmus, and consequently make St Lucie a peninsula : this 

 was done, so that it is at present no island, though still retain- 

 ing its old appellation. We finished this excursion by return- 

 ing by Capitoul, a small village on the side oV the Montange 

 de la Clape, where we expected to find the Atractylis humilis : 

 we were, however, disappointed, as we got merely one-or two of 

 last year''s stems, and some new ones scarcely emerged from the 

 earth. Let those who can, visit this hill about the very com- 

 mencement of May, and, above all, carefully avoid the sea- 

 beach. 



