THE GARDEN OF CYMODOCE 103 



shooting expert, or any sportsman one degree removed 

 from barbarism, would molest such harmless and beauti- 

 ful creatures. I heard of one " 'Arry " who fired some 

 shots at them with very indifferent success, but I am 

 glad to say that he was hauled up before the magis- 

 trates and heavily fined, as well as having to bear the 

 more disagreeable penalty of exposure, 



The wild cliff and rock scenery form a striking con- 

 trast to the fertile and flowery interior the commons 

 blazing with furze blossom, the hedges and banks starred 

 with primroses, the lanes bright with hawthorn bloom. 

 I have nowhere seen primroses grow more luxuriantly. 

 In addition to the ordinary yellow sort, three other 

 varieties a dark red, a pale pink, and a pure white 

 are not uncommon, and "sports" primroses with 

 twelve and even fourteen petals instead of the ordinary 

 five have been brought under my notice. I am no 

 scientist botanist, but a high authority, Mr. Marquand 

 of the Linnsean Society, in the chapter on " Wild 

 Flowers and Ferns " which he contributed to the Book 

 ofSark, says that the indigenous flora is an exceedingly 

 rich one, and that between four and five hundred 

 flowering plants may be found growing wild in the 

 island. Among its floral treasures he enumerates the 

 little bulbous Ixia, and the tiny Capitate rush, which 

 only occur in a single British locality besides the 

 Channel Islands; a miniature Stonecrop of a bright 

 ruby red known as the Mossy Tillaea, a very scarce 

 Blue Pimpernel, and a Yellow Pimpernel, interesting 

 because it is not to be found anywhere else in the 

 Channel Islands. He deplores the danger of the 

 extermination of rare plants by thoughtless collectors, 

 and instances the practical eradication of the Royal 



