14 LUNDY ISLAND. 



were gay with the purple bloom of the cinereous 

 heath, and with the brilliant masses of blossom of the 

 yellow broom. A bush of this latter kind was spring- 

 ing out of the very lintel of the cavern doorway, and 

 its long spikes of flowers were elegantly pendent over 

 the entrance, the darkness of the interior throwing 

 out into fine relief the rich golden mass of bloom. 

 The thorny, or Burnet-leaved rose, was trailing its 

 lengthened and tortuous branches over the ground, 

 nowhere rising to more than a few inches in height : 

 we were charmed with the beauty and delicacy of its 

 spotless cream-coloured blossoms, and still more with 

 their exquisite fragrance. We afterwards found this 

 plant quite characteristic of the botany of the island. 



From these slopes we looked down upon, but did 

 not explore, the peninsula of Lametry, a mass ol land 

 precipitous on every side, and joined to the main of 

 the island by a ridge of rock running up to a sharp 

 knife-like edge. Beyond this is an insular rock called 

 Kat Island, from the great number of rats that have 

 made it their home. They are believed to feed 

 largely on fish, as well as on limpets and other littoral 

 prey. Lundy is much infested with rats. For a 

 while the old English, or black rat, succeeded in 

 maintaining undisturbed possession of this little nook 

 against its ruthless exterminator the Norway, or 

 brown rat. The latter, however, has at length found 

 its way across, and is already the more numerous of 

 the two. Mice are quite unknown. 



Among the lovelier plants we noticed the little 



