WILD FLOWERS IN DECEMBER. 41 



was noted ; at other times only the novelties were added to 

 the list. Our first walk was taken on December 1st to 

 Saints' Bay and Moulin Huet, and during the day we 

 collected 107 species, which was considered a very good 

 beginning. The second walk, on the 4th, embraced the 

 north-eastern district of the island, viz., Mont Crevelt, Yale 

 Castle, Bordeaux and the lanes in the neighbourhood ; on this 

 occasion we probably beat the record for a single day's flower 

 hunting in December, for we collected 115 species, of which 

 no less than 46 were additions to the previous list, making in 

 all 153 flowers found in two days. 



Unfavourable weather and other circumstances prevented 

 our having another long walk until December 26th, when we 

 went over Delancey Hill to l'lslet and the coast of Grand 

 Havre. This excursion produced 101 species, the finding of 

 which necessitated a good deal of close searching, because 

 flowers were decidedly more scarce than they were three 

 weeks earlier, owing to the recent keen cold winds. The 

 fourth and last walk, taken under considerable disadvantages 

 as regards weather, was in the vicinity of Fermain and 

 Jerbourg on the last day of the year ; the number of flowers 

 collected was 86, of which three were additions to our 

 previous lists, as if to show that even now we had not 

 exhausted all the floral treasures of mid-winter. 



The total number of wild flowers found by us during the 

 entire month amounts to 187 species, — a number which so 

 greatly exceeds what I had estimated that I feel sure the 

 Society will be glad to preserve the record in its Transactions. 

 About 50 of these may be described as fairly common flowers 

 during the month of December, whilst about the same number 

 must rank as excessively rare, since they only occurred to us 

 once, and in many instances were represented by a single 

 blossom. They must be classed with "the last rose of 

 summer," and would doubtless perish with the first frost. 



Some of the plants deserve a passing note. That bright 

 herald of spring, the Lesser Celandine or Pile wort, was 

 commonly in blossom during the entire month ; I saw its 

 golden stars as early as November 24th, in the Saints' Bay 

 Valley. The Common Bittercress, another purely spring 

 flower, was likewise in bloom very generally, The Corn 

 Poppy, the Honeysuckle, and the Sweet Vernal Grass were 

 quite unexpected finds, and so was the Centaury, found twice 

 on Fermain Point on the last day of the year, its pretty pink 

 star-like flowers as bright and fresh as in July. A sharp look- 

 out was kept for a Dog Violet, but without success, though the 



