OF THE JOURNAL OF HORTICTJLTCTRE. 



27 



from the town the cliffs assumed a style of gorgeous orna- 

 meiitntion, masses of the Reil Valci-iaii (Valeriana rubra) 

 hung from the crags, glowing in the broad sunliglit — 

 " Like a Lfaiincr biitlica in ?Iiuighter." 



This deep colouring was relieved by great quantities of 

 pale golden blossoms adorning the myriad spilies of the 

 Sea Cabbage (Brassica oleracca), ami the etl'eet of these were 

 heightened by the intense blue of the Borage (Borago 

 oflieinalis), which grew in abuudance upon those sea-girt 

 elifl's. Wherever there was a crevice in the rocks, one or 

 other of the Stonecrojis had cstablislicd a home ; now it was 

 the white star of the c'onnnon English species (Sedum 

 Anglitum) which, adorned liy their rosy stamens, covered 

 all the surface of the plot : and now it was tlie araljcr stars of 

 the golden moss (Scdnm acre) ; or the plot changed its 

 mossy appearance, and showed whorled branches and tall 

 flower-stalks, upon which were borne dense cymes of the 

 orange blossoms of tlie rock Stonecrop (S. rupestre). The 

 Thrift and Sea Sandwort contributed their ipiota of gay 

 colouring, and tlic Fowcy clitTs were dressed as for a feast of 

 flowers, tlie drooping lionds (d' the Sea Spleenwort (Asplcnium 

 Marinum), completing the cliarm of nature's decoration. 



On returning from their long ramble, our tourists found 

 their hostess in some anxiety, owing to her husband not 

 having returned. She stood at the window looking out for 

 him. The dinner waited j and her solicitude increased. 

 Presently tlio noise of wlicels was heard along the 

 naiTow street, the neighbouring clock chimed eight, and 

 rang out its quaint tunc, just as tlie nodding illumes of a 

 hearse were seen approaching. It drew near, and the anxious 

 wife was too much fascinated by the hoiTor of its association, 

 to obseiTe who sat on the driving box ; and when the sombre 

 vehicle drew up at the door, she fainted away. On recover- 

 ing, she found her husband by her side, laughing 

 at her fears. He had tried in vain to hire a " land 

 gig," and the tide being low, no other " gig " was 

 available. He was at his wits' end for the means 

 of returning home, when he found that the Fowcy ' ' 



hearse liad been in attendance at a neighbouring 

 funeral, and was about to retm-n : so he was glad 

 to mount the di'iving box and secure a lift. He 

 had wholly forgotten the state of his wife's nerves, 

 or he would not have brought the ominous con- 

 veyance to his own door. 



Canvassing business called him to St. Austell 

 within a few days ; and as he then succeeded in 

 hiring a horse, and, being in advance of the age, 

 was accustomed to drive in a four-wheel, Dove 

 and Mauve got a further lift towards their next 

 halting-plaee, Penzance. Tliey reached St. Austell 

 in time to take the coach for Truro, where they 

 got upon the railroad, and reached Penzance early 

 in the evening. 



Their stay at Penzance proved prolific in floral 

 treasures, but poor in adventures, for they had 

 ceased to consider such contretemps as getting 

 bogged in Marazion marsh, or overtaken by the ' 

 tide on St. Michael's Mount, worthy of such a 

 name. The shore was gay with the exquisite rose- 

 coloured bells of the Sea Convolvulus (C. solda- 

 nella), the sand hills were covered with the fleshy 

 stems and foliage of the Sea Sandwort, whose tiny white 

 flowers made no show at all in comparison with tlie swollen 

 seed-vessels and heavy foliage. The Sea Horned-Pojipy was 

 there, too, with its large golden petals of delicate texture and 

 horn-like pod, the glaucous leaves contrasting charmingly with 

 the amber flowers (Glauciuni lutcum). A low wall separated 

 the coast from the marsh and the road leading to the ancient 

 Jewish settlement, and here that treasure of the fern group, the 

 Lanceolate Spleenwort (Asjilenium laneeolatum) was growing. 



The marsh was still richer in its store of plants, and our 

 botanists had advanced but a short distance, when they were 

 delighted at the sight of a sunny bank, perfectly covered with 

 the rosy blossoms of the Bog Pimpernel (Anagallis tenella). 

 The thread-like stems, beset with tiny leaves, were forming a 

 net-work over the sward, and the blossoms were like 

 expanded bells trembling in every breeze. In the wetter 

 ground gv^w quantities of the viscid Bartsia (B. viscosa^. 



its broad, delicately tinted leaves sticky with balsamic glands, 

 the odour of which nearly resembled the common garden 

 Musk, and the yellow labiate blooms rising from their axils. 

 A little further on and the ground was covered with water, 

 out of which rose little mounds surmounted by low bushes, 

 while at their side grew lordly masses of the Koyal Fcm 

 (Osnuinda regalis.) It was in procuring specimens of this 

 King of Ferns, that Mauve found herself as deeply immersed 

 in water as she had been in the I'owey river, but without the 

 advantage of being prepared for the plunge. 



Part of the marsh consisted in more or less shallow ponds, 

 and here a large variety of water-jilants were flourishing. 

 The common Butter AVort (Pinguicula vulgaris) and Forget- 

 me-not (Myosotis palustris) were blooming on the margin, 

 and the Floating, Perfoliate, and Shining Pondwecds (Pota- 

 mogeton natans, jierfoliatum, and lueens) grew in abundance 

 in the depths; there were also the Least AVater Parsnip 

 (Siiini inundatum), with its tiny umbels of inconspicuous 

 flowers and pinnate leaves, wedge-shaped above the water 

 .and thread-shaped underneath ; and the Water Eanuncnlus 

 (U. aquatilis), of similar haliit, covering the surface of the 

 ]iond with its delicate white roses. The Spiked Jlilfoil 

 (Myriophyllum spicatum) was lifting its pink blooms above 

 the water, keeping its feathery leaves carefully below ; masses 

 of the Vernal Starwort (Callitrichc vcrna) grew in every 

 pond, and the Common Horn^^■ort (Ceratophyllum demcrsum) 

 was found in one. Various kinds of mosses covered the damp 

 earth, and in particular the Common Fontinalis grew in great 

 luxmiauee in tlie ditches, as did also the Narrow-leaved Bog 

 JIoss (Sphagnum acutuni). It was fine calm weather, and 

 the weeds thrown up on the shore were few, and those only 

 of common species, mere branches of Fcici and Laminaria, 

 with an occasional frond of ChjTocladia and Delesseria alata. 



^^^-^^ci^:^ 



The day at the Land's End was one of great enjoyment; 

 there was no tea saloon there then, and our tourists were the 

 only persons on the wild granite rocks. A seagull was 

 engaged iu the maternal duty of incubation on a rock a little 

 out to sea, but so near the coast clill', that an unpractised 

 hand might have hit her with a stone. She did not seem the 

 least annoyed by the vicinity of Dove and Mauve, though 

 her mate was evidently a little uneasy about it, for the whole 

 time that they stayed there he stood beside her, as if to 

 extend his protection over her. Of course the tourists ex- 

 plored the caverns, and brought away crystals from their 

 glittering walls, and they gazed on the expanse of ocean, and 

 invoked a blessing on the outward-bound vessels. But as 

 far as the botanical collection went, it only increased that 

 day by one plant — the Sea Heron's Bill — which was display- 

 ing its petalless blossoms on the arid rocks and roadsides 

 (Erodium maritimum). 



