THE OUTEN HEBRIDES 



foam : indeed, the Atlantic waves beat entirely- 

 over it. The investigator of Rockall gave a 

 rather discouraging report to the Admiralty. 

 " There is," he wrote, " no grass nor moss on 

 the island. I could not say if there is any land- 

 ing place, but should think not. I don't be- 

 lieve there is ever a day when a boat could come 

 near it." In 1887, Mr. Harvie-Brown hoped to 

 land there from his yacht, but was forced to 

 abandon the attempt owing to the stress of the 

 seas. It is said that the island has been visited 

 by human beings, but if so the results of their 

 exploration are very meagre. Major Fielden 

 thought that the botany would prove the most 

 interesting part, showing the distribution of plants 

 in a purely oceanic area. " It would be well 

 worth a visit," he added, " when every scrap of 

 vegetation and lichens and mosses should be 

 collected." 



BENBECUI.A. 



Another curious Hebridean island is Benbecula. 

 It is not difficult of access in the sense that 

 Sulisgeir and Rockall are, for instead of pre- 

 senting a sheer precipice to the visitor it is prac- 

 tically a dead flat. But in order to approach 

 it, it is necessary to acquire a clear grip of its 

 individual peculiarities. The steamboat from 

 the mainland will put you down on a certain flat 

 rock, and if you have average luck, your lone 

 figure will be noted by somebody, and a boat will 

 be sent down the long rocky voe to your rescue. 

 Or you may disembark on either of the adjacent 

 islands, North and South Uist, each of which has 

 a distinct landing stage, and at low tide you can 

 walk to Benbecula on the sands. 



The island has been described as follows : — 

 " The sea is here all islands and the land all 



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