214 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



mended to members of such a society as this, and 

 it strikes me that the suggestion which I have just 

 made supplies the answer. It is exactly in that 

 field — the following up of details, tracing out 

 minutiae of structure, in occupying themselves vrith 

 such questions as are only to be solved by long and 

 patient devotion of time and dexterity, and a 

 thorough knowledge of instrumental manipulation 

 — it is exactly there that men of science find their 

 difficulties, because the amount of time consumed 



is so great.' Professor Huxley then pointed out 

 that the life-history of most micro-organisms was 

 unknown, and urged the members to endeavour 

 to remedy this, and added that — ' This is the 

 kind of service which those members of the club 

 may perform who feel inclined for it : it is 

 work which may be of very great value, and 

 which certainly cannot be undertaken by those 

 who have to occupy themselves v.-ith science as 

 a whole.' " 



THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 



By Alfred H, Bastin. 



T TAVIZnG spent a very pleasant holiday last 

 Jul}- in the Channel Islands, it has occurred 

 to me that a few natural history notes I v,-as 

 able to make there, might prove acceptable 

 to those who have never had an opportunity 

 of visiting the Normandy archipelago. They 

 may perhaps serve somewhat as a guide to 

 others who may purpose going there. The islands 

 are reached from England by way of Weymouth 

 or Southampton, the latter being the longest sea 

 trip, and the one to which the following remarks 

 refer. 



Let us then imagine ourselves on the deck of the 

 South-Westem Railway boat, feeling the throb 

 of the engines beneath us, and, the fresh, salt sea- 

 breezes in our faces, steaming down the Solent 

 past the Needles lighthouse. Then out into the 

 Channel, where the white-crested billows soon 

 cause the good ship to roll slowly from side to side, 

 much to the discomfort of some of the passengers. 

 If constitutional conditions permit, however, the 

 deck is by far the better place. The air is 

 glorious, and one does not soon tire of w^atching 

 the dancing, sunlit waves. When these fail to 

 interest, there are the gulls, follo^\■ing us mile after 

 mile, soaring and circling above the masts, as rooks 

 fly round the elm-tops at evening before going to 

 rest. An occasional cormorant or shag flies s%viftly 

 past, close to the surface of the water, and ever and 

 anon we run imexpectedly into a school of porpoises, 

 which amuse everyone by their antics. All is of 

 interest to a landsman, from the long, low steam 

 cargo-boat, lazily rolling up Channel, to the white, 

 sparkling foam, which flies from our bows as we 

 forge ahead. When approaching the Islands, the 

 Casquets, a group of very bare and bleak-looking 

 rocks, are the first to appear above the horizon. 

 Next comes Aldemey, and shortly after our 

 destination — Guernsey. At St. Peter-Port the 

 quay is crowded with visitors and harbour officials, 

 shouting porters and importunate cab and car 

 proprietors, all mingling together amongst the 

 heaps of fruit-baskets and the waiting conveyances. 



After a slight delay, the boat comes alongside the 

 quay and we go ashore. 



With regard to natural historj- — first, let the 

 Guille Alles museum, situated in the French 

 market, at St. Peter-Port, be mentioned. Here 

 we may learn something of the local fauna ; though 

 this institute shares to a large extent the fault of 

 so many local museums, viz., the hoarding of large 

 numbers of badh'-arranged curiosities, which take 

 up much valuable room. The Lepidoptera, though 

 small in numbers, are good. From them we learn 

 that Argynnis latona, Colias edusa, and C. hyale axe 

 taken here; also, that there are only four of the 

 genus Lyccena. in the islands — L. alexis, L. argiolus, 

 L. agestis, and L. csgon. 



Fermain Bay, about tvs-o miles from St. Peter- 

 Port, is an excellent bathing-place, providing 

 the tide is not too high. Ascending the path 

 from the beach, one is forcibly struck with 

 the extreme clearness of the water here. Ex- 

 cepting on the coast of Cornv,-all, one seldom 

 sees really clear sea-water in England. Looking 

 over the edge of the cliff, we can distinctly 

 see shoals of fish s%\dmming far below, and the 

 stones and weeds on the bottom, at a depth of 

 many feet. Still ascending the path, we are con- 

 tinuallj' dislodging specimens of the currant-moth 

 {A hraxas grossulariata) ; no striking varieties appear, 

 however, and we press onward. In all the open 

 spaces the hntterOies, Epinephele lithonus axiA Satyrus 

 semele, in the hot sunshine, are flying by in 

 himdreds from flower to flower. Some E. janira 

 also appear, but not in such numbers. Pieris rapa 

 and P. napi are common enough as usual, but 

 P. hrassiciB seemed more scarce. Half-a-mile 

 farther on we come upon numbers of Bombyx 

 quercus, many of which are flying up, down, and 

 across our path. Here, too, we find Lycana alexis 

 and Polyommatus phlisas in some numbers. At 

 Cobo Bay, on the other side of the island, the dry 

 rushes and plants growing on the tracts of land 

 above high-water mark are literally incrusted 

 with shells of Helix virgata and Bulimus acutus. 



