X. PREFACE. 



say that within the last few years miles of glass- 

 houses have been built in Guernsey alone : these 

 have been built mostly for the purpose of growing 

 grapes for the London market. These orchard- 

 houses have, to a certain extent, taken the place of 

 ordinary orchards and gardens, which have been 

 rooted up and destroyed to make place for this 

 enormous extent of glass. But what appeared to 

 me to have made the greatest change, and has 

 probably had more effect on the Ornithology of the 

 Island, especially of that part known as the Vale, 

 is the enormous number of granite quarries which 

 are being worked there (luckily the beautiful cliffs 

 have hitherto escaped the granite in those parts, 

 probably not being so good) ; but in the Vale from 

 St. Samson's to Fort Doyle, and from there to the 

 Vale Church, with the exception of L'Ancresse 

 Common itself, which has hitherto escaped, the 

 whole face of the country is changed by quarry 

 works and covered with small windmills used for 

 pumping the water from the quarries. These 

 quarry works and the extra population brought by 

 them into the Island, all of whom carry guns and 

 shoot everything that is fit to eat or is likely to 

 fetch a few " doubles" in the market, have done a 

 good deal to thin the birds in that part of the 

 Islands, especially such as are in any way fit for 

 sale or food, and probably have done more to make 

 a change in the Ornithology of that part of the 



