THE ARCHIPELAGO OF BREHAT. 91 



enemy abounds everywhere, and will most probably 

 soon traverse the narrow arm of the sea, which se- 

 parates Brehat from the continent, so that the last 

 of the black rats will without doubt, in the course of 

 a few years, fall a victim to the fury of Its voracious 

 congener. 



The interest which appertains to these terrestrial 

 and aerial populations had not, however, been the at- 

 traction which drew me to Brehat, and I therefore 

 prepared, the day after my arrival, to explore my 

 domain. As soon as the sea had retired from the 

 shore, I set forth with a tin box suspended from 

 a leather belt which was strapped across my shoulders, 

 my pockets well filled with tubes and bottles, and my 

 broad iron spud In my hand. The first few hours of 

 this exploration were painfully unsatisfactory. Full 

 of the recollections of the zoological treasures which 

 the Sacaviron of Chausey so bountifully displays, it 

 was long before I could discover anything worthy of 

 notice in the midst of the desolate barrenness which 

 surrounded me on all sides. The channels of Brehat 

 present a singular appearance, owing to the violent 

 currents by which they are constantly traversed. 

 Wherever the force of the waves finds free scope, it 

 undermines and disintegrates the rocks, which crumble 

 into fragments too small and unstable to afford 

 shelter to any large number of animals, whilst the 

 sands are too well washed to furnish an adequate 

 supply of food. The few sheltered points which the 

 coast presents are generally encumbered with detri- 

 tus, reduced to the condition of semi-fluid mud, and 

 covered with immense tracts of Zostera, forming a 



