WILD FLOWEKS IN DECEMBER. 



BT ME. E. D. MAEQUAND, VICE-PEESIDENT. 



Geneeally about Christmas time someone finds a primrose 

 or two in some warm sheltered nook, and forthwith the 

 discovery is announced in the local newspapers as quite 

 extraordinary. Now there is an old proverb in the Guernsey 

 patois to the effect that there is never a. Christmas without 

 its primrose and its little lamb. And, as a matter of fact, 

 this " pale darling of spring " is to be found in flower here in 

 every month of the year, though, of course, April is the 

 primrose month par excellence. 



Many summer flowers are, however, far more common at 

 Christmas time than the primrose ; and with the exercise of a 

 little care in selecting and pruning, and a little taste in 

 arrangement, a very pretty and effective bouquet may be 

 collected in the hedgerows during any of the winter months. 

 It is really surprising what a number of wild plants may be 

 found in flower at the end of the year if properly looked for. 

 Here is a cutting from a Sussex newspaper giving the names 

 of 69 plants found in blossom on the 24th and 25th of 

 December in the neighbourhood of St. Leonard's ; and I 

 have also before me a list of 111 wild flowers gathered in 

 Cornwall during the month of December. 



Some time ago it occurred to me that it would be 

 interesting to ascertain what sort of a list could be made out 

 for Guernsey, and how it would compare with the south of 

 England. Accordingly I secured the co-operation of two 

 sharp-eyed lady friends, and as soon as the month of 

 December opened we set to work to catalogue all the wild 

 flowers we could find. We made it a condition that only 

 actual blossoms should be counted ; mere buds, except when 

 showing the colour of the petals, were disregarded, as well as 

 seeds or young fruit. 



During the month we made four special excursions in 

 different directions, when every species that came in our way 



