OF GIBRALTAR. 61 



of Lactuca tenerrima, whose light lilac flowers attract 

 general attention nearly throughout the summer, the 

 flowers appearing even long after the leaves have 

 died. On reaching the Naval Hospital, an open 

 space of ground is seen hefore it, shaded by fine spe- 

 cimens of Phytolacca dioica. Under the most shel- 

 tered one may be seen a seat reserved for the use of 

 the medical officers of this large establishment, who, 

 after their morning labours, usually assemble here, 

 when the junior officers learn from the lips of one or 

 the other senior surgeons the result of their expe- 

 rience at the bedside of the sick soldier. Those 

 who are botanically inclined, will find in this neigh- 

 bourhood a small but interesting field to explore ; and 

 perhaps they cannot find a pursuit more likely to 

 benefit and at the same time to amuse them, after 

 leaving their respective wards, than to study the 

 beauties of even the few flowers within the walls of 

 the hospital. On the grassy surface is a variety of 

 Medicago and Lotus ; and on the walls and sides of 

 the rock are seen Iberis gibraltarica, Linaria tristis, 

 Campanula mollis, Buphthalmum maritimum, and the 

 lofty Sempervivum arboreum. Andryala integrifolia 

 and a few specimens of the Solanum sodomeum may 

 also be seen in this locality. The available spaces in 

 the South-district are all densely cultivated with vege- 

 tables, flowers, &c. The soil is very productive, 

 consisting of a vegetable mould, highly impregnated 

 with animal matter, of which there is never a deficiency 

 in Gibraltar. 



The road from the town which leads to the galle- 



