416 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



not until the return of the * Pedro ' that we were able to pay a 

 second visit to Great Piton. As we were obliged to catch 

 a steamer at Las Palmas, which was due to leave for Madeira on 

 May 1st, it had been arranged that the * Pedro ' should return for 

 us in good time, and she turned up about four o'clock on Sunday 

 evening, April 28th. Having packed up all our previous collec- 

 tions and baggage, we left Great Salvage, with many regrets, at 

 seven o'clock the following morning. Again we were fortunate 

 in getting all our belongings safely on board, for we had antici- 

 pated trouble, as the cases containing specimens preserved in 

 spirits were extremely heavy, requiring several men to move each 

 one, but with a little care we avoided any mishap. On leaving 

 the shelter of the island we ran before a strong wind and 

 following sea ; and as we approached the Great Piton, saw that 

 the great rollers were breaking heavily on the weather coast, but 

 by running round to the south side we landed without much 

 difficulty. Of all the lovely natural flower-gardens we have ever 

 seen this island is the most beautiful ; and we would gladly have 

 spent a few days camping here, though the collections, from 

 a zoological point of view, might not have been very important. 

 The Salvage Mouse is not found here, and the only mammal is 

 the Common Rat, which had, of course, been imported on some 

 ship ; and though we saw no trace of them except a skull, our 

 men assured us that they were plentiful enough. 



The birds observed were Whimbrels, Little Ringed Plovers, 

 Turnstones, and a few pairs of the Common Tern, as well as the 

 Kestrel, House Martin, Turtle Dove, and a Goatsucker, shot just 

 as we were leaving the island. What interested us most, however, 

 were the flowering plants, which literally covered the flat sandy 

 surface of the island, making the whole place a blaze of colour. 

 One of the most conspicuous was the Pedosia (P. paivce), a kind of 

 straggling trefoil, only met with on this little islet ; it was very 

 plentiful, and its beautiful yellow flowers mingled everywhere with 

 the Sea Lavender (Statice pectinata), which varied in tint from 

 almost white to pale violet, and reminded us of a creeping 

 Heliotrope in its general habit. We dug up some of the enormous 

 bulbs of a Scilla, probably Scilla hyacinthoides, but as it was not 

 then in flower, it remains to be seen, should it live through the 

 winter, what species it really belongs to. We feel sure that any 

 botanist visiting the Salvages, and Great Piton in particular, will 



