BY THE MEDITERRANEAN. 49 



Stony, the path carefully avoiding all precipices. From lower 

 down a projecting pinnacle is seen on the left of the main rock, 

 very much resembling the Pillar Rock in our English lakes, but 

 tinged with the characteristic red colour of the Jurassic limestone 

 about Mentone. On the slopes near here grew shrubs of 

 Cneorum tricoccon, also plants of Helianthemu7n vulgare. My way 

 was next down a steep slope of loose grey gault, and was anything 

 but good. In one place there was an abundance of long conical 

 fossils, which looked like the shells of a kind of JVerincea. Soon 

 I reached a tiny little wayside chapel, called Santa Lucia, whence 

 the path followed a pretty ridge separating the Boirie valley from 

 the Vallee des Chateigners. This is covered with the usual 

 growth of scrub, and on the Junipers jelly-like masses of the fungus, 

 Podisoma fuscimi^ occur. Just before emerging at the pottery I 

 found some fine acute forms of Asplenium adiantum nigrum. 



This was the first sunny day after the spell of rain, and in the 

 evening the full moon was very bright. So still and warm was the 

 air, that, although it was only the 5th of January, one could 

 sit out in the hotel garden, in the moonlight, and enjoy the scent 

 of the heliotrope, roses, and other flowers now in full bloom. 



The following morning I hired a bicycle to ride to Monaco ; 

 but I soon regretted I had not trusted exclusively to "Shanks' 

 pony." The road was much more hilly than I had imagined. 

 I nearly managed to ride to the top of the hill behind Cap Mar- 

 tin, but the next hill was considerably steeper, and with a hot sun 

 shining down overhead, and the heat reflected by the rocks 

 behind, riding was too much of a good thing. The last straw but 

 one was when I came to a hill too steep to ride down. The last 

 straw was when I got near Monte Carlo. Here there are any 

 amount of dogs about the streets, and these seem to delight in 

 worrying the cyclist as they come barking round, and are a perfect 

 nuisance. 



Both Monte Carlo and Monaco are getting very much over- 

 built ; almost every square inch is covered with houses and hotels, 

 many of them decidedly second rate, and the few available spaces 

 a little further on bear the notice of Terrain a vendre. Along the 

 roads were the triumphal arches and other decorations put up to 

 welcome the Prince of Monaco on his return to the principality 



International Journal of Microscopy and Natural Science. 

 Third Series. Vol. III. E 



