GENERAL DESCRIPTION 19 



ing the crops. Lamaluin (Lambs' Holm), with its beautifully 

 green verdured headland, its shingly beaches, and Piper's 

 Cave, is a little farther on. Dreis-nic-Ceothain is named 

 after a young woman who had the hardihood to walk across 

 that dangerous ledge. In the cliffs around Aoineadh-nam- 

 Muc, Lamalum, and other parts, great numbers of sea- 

 fowl Gulls of various kinds (Sgaireag = Kittiwake?, mostly) 

 Cormorants, Guillemots (Eun Dubh a Sgadain), Razor- 

 bills, etc. lay their eggs on the ledges. When they are 

 disturbed from their nests the shrill cries from thousands 

 of throats, the howling of the wind over the edges of 

 the cliffs, and the dashing of the waves beneath, create 

 a discordance not readily forgotten. Binnean Eiabhach, 

 the highest sheer cliff (about 350 feet) in the island, is 

 annually taken possession of by the Peregrine (Seobhag) 

 for rearing its young ; and as each spring comes round a 

 pair of Eavens (Fitheach), in choosing a site for their 

 nest, make a leisurely survey of the most inaccessible spots 

 in the neighbourhood. 



The sombre aspect of these northerly exposed and usually 

 sunless cliffs is relieved from early summer onwards by an 

 abundance of wild-flowers and ferns, which find root-space 

 in the many interstices and on ledges in these broken and 

 fast disintegrating rocks. Colonies of yellow-flowered Rose- 

 root, glaucous green-foliaged Campion, rosy-coloured Thrift, 

 daisy-like Matricary, together with the greenery of the Sea 

 Spleenwort and many other plants and ferns, make a com- 

 bination of pleasing colours that favourably contrasts with 

 their rugged surroundings. Here also the Scottish Lovage 

 and the rarer Spergularia rupestris are safe from the maraud- 

 ing hands of the collector. Many other plants not usually 

 characterised as sea-rock plants, and apparently happy in 

 their novel surroundings on ledges and in crevices, lend a 

 charm to the scene with their flowers of various hues. 

 Among those noted were Bird's- foot Trefoil, Blue Scabious, 



