FLOWERING PLANTS. 481 
Campion (.Sz/ene maritima), which occurs in abundance along the 
coast, especially on Little Burhou. 
I paid two visits to the island during the summer of 1899, viz., on 
May 30th and on July sth. and it was on the latter occasion that I 
was detained there by fog. My principal object was to study the 
nesting habits of certain sea birds, but I also wished to ascertain 
what plants were to be found on such a bare, wind-swept islet. The 
season was an exceptionaily dry one, it is true, but, making every 
- allowance for drought, I certainly expected to find a greater variety 
of plant-life. During both visits only a meagre list of fifteen flowering 
plants and two ferns could be compiled after a pretty careful search : 
and even of this small number two or three are certainly not in- 
digenous, but must have been introduced, probably during the 
building of the house. 
On the rith of May, 1900, I again spent a few hours on Burhou, 
but the only new plant I could discover was Cerastium tetrand um, 
which grew very sparingly on the western slopes. A Frenchman 
and his wife were living in the cottage, and had brought over a few 
pigs, goats, and fowls. This will, in the course of a few years, 
materially affect the native vegetation of the island, and introduce 
new species. It may be as well to note therefore, as a rather curious 
fact, that, in my three visits to Burhou, though looking closely for 
plants, I was unable to detect a single blade of grass anywhere, or a 
Composite of any kind. The most remarkable phanerogam found 
here is the Sea Club Rush (.Sc77fus maritimus), because it has never 
been known to occur in Alderney, and the nearest station for it is 
eighteen miles away, in Guernsey. 
It is interesting to compare the scanty flora of Burhou with that 
of Lihou, on the west coast of Guernsey, the two islands being, 
roughly speaking, about the same size. As many as ninety-five 
flowering plants are known to occur on Lihou, or six times as many 
as on Burhou. But, then, the former islet has been inhabited from 
early times, and is, moreover, so close to the main island that the 
seeds of plants would be blown over continually during the pre- 
valence of high winds. : 
Cochlearia danica, L. Fairly common all over the island. 
Silene maritima, With. Abundant on many parts of the 
coast, especially on Little Burhou. 
Sagina maritima, Don. Plentiful in all parts. 
Cerastium tetrandrum, Curt. Sparingly on the western 
side. 
II 
