Mr, C. A. Wright's Visit to Filfla. 437 



onion or garlic, the stem rising to a height of more than five 

 feet. The famihar Silene vespertina and pretty Uttle Anagallis 

 arvensis (both the red and the blue varieties) were also seen. 

 They were very much stunted, doubtless from the exposed nature 

 of the situation, I discovered several very healthy and flourish- 

 ing plants of the Echalium elaterium, or squirting cucumber. 

 Many of the fruit were ripe, as evinced by their going off, like 

 a hair-triggered pistol, at the slightest touch, discharging their 

 seeds with great force. This is an interesting instance of the 

 innumerable and various ways adopted by nature for scattering 

 the seeds of plants. Another interesting plant noticed is the 

 Caper, but of which species of the two found in Malta I did not 

 ascertain. I have also to mention a large kind of umbelliferous 

 plant pretty common, and several other small plants unknown 

 to me. I took care, however, to bring home specimens. The 

 above, I think, comprise nearly all the scanty flora of this rocky 

 islet. The Black Lizard of Filfla is perfectly black on the upper 

 parts, spotted with green and blue. It is considered to be 

 merely a variety of Podarces muralis, of Italy and the Maltese 

 Islands ; but no one seeing the two could ever mistake one for 

 the other. Its black colour and larger size distinguish it at a 

 glance. It is what naturalists, in the absence of a better term, 

 may call a " permanent local variety ; " but in what respects a 

 permanent variety differs from a species I have never been able 

 to find out. The Filfla Lizard affords a striking and curious 

 illustration of the variation of species produced by local causes. 

 la an ornithological way, considering the small size of the 

 rock, and that the migratory season is nearly over, we were not 

 disappointed. Besides the Pigeons (an admixture of escaped Do- 

 mestic Pigeons and the Blue-rock) we saw about a dozen Turtle- 

 Doves [Columha turtur) that had doubtless alighted there (the 

 nearest point) on their northern migration from Africa. Although 

 fired at and frequently disturbed, they continued on the island 

 for some hours after our arrival, and probably were there when we 

 left. We also observed from a dozen to eighteen Quails, a Purple 

 Heron (and found another dead), a Squacco Heron, and several 

 small birds, namely, two Wheatears {Saxicola cenanthe), three 

 or four Yellow Wagtails, a Tawny Pipit, a Short-toed Lark, two 



