268 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



and many another famous Naturalist. Thus did 

 such scientists, archaeologists, and men of letters as M. 

 Biot, Kater, Airy, Sir Henry Dryden, Charles Lyell, 

 Prince Lucien Bonaparte, Dasent, Tupper, Adam Clarke, 

 &c. To us the coming of such guests was like glimpses 

 of a new world. To them the " Old Eock " was as a 

 charmed land binding its spell upon their spirits. The 

 infinite variety in its sea and rock scenery, the copious- 

 ness of Nature's productions — botanical, mineralogical, 

 ornithological — the peace and freedom of life in the 

 Isles, all combined to make it a " pleasant land " to 

 men of science, a fount of inspiration to literati. One 

 spoke the thought of many when he said, " There is a 

 fascination about your rocks which I can't explain, but 

 which I feel. It is something of the sentiment which 

 binds the Switzer to his mountains, the sailor to the 

 ocean. This must be the magnetic Isle which drew 

 the sliips to it ! " That is the romantic aspect of the 

 Old Eock : — Geologically, its formation is for the most 

 part composed of primitive rocks — gneiss, granite, mica- 

 slate, quartz, clay-slate, serpentine, limestone, and 

 euphotide or diallage rock. There is therefore ample 

 scope for the prosecution of geological and mineralogical 

 researches. 



The flora of Shetland is copious, although — owing 

 no doubt to the comparatively low elevation of even 

 the highest land, " Eooness Hill," which is barely 

 fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea — there 

 are scarcely any Alpine plants properly so called. 



Of wild quadrupeds there are very few, but that 



