THE FLORA OF THE ISLAND OF BRECHOU. 



BY CECIL P. HURST. 



Brechou, Brecqhou, or lie des Marchands is an island lying 

 off the centre of the western coast of Sark, from which it is 

 separated by the dangerous channel called the Gouliot Passage. 

 This narrow strait is 70 yards wide and 50 feet deep at high 

 water. The name Brechou is supposed to be derived from the 

 Gothic, hrican, the breach, passage, or gap that the sea has 

 broken through, and ou, an island, like Jethou, Lihou, Burhou, 

 &c. In shape, Brechou is an irregular oval, the long axis 

 lying about due east and west. The physical features of the 

 island resemble, in the main, those of Sark, and consist of a 

 flattish land surface placed at an elevation of about one 

 hundred to two hundred feet above the sea, and surrounded on 

 every side by cliffs of varying height. This land surface rises 

 towards the east, where it culminates in the lofty and precipitous 

 Pointe Beleme, and slopes gradually westwards. In a sheltered 

 depression towards the north is built the farmhouse, the only 

 dwelling on the island. There are no streams, but near the 

 farm is an ancient well of delicious water, and there is a fresh 

 water pool, probably fed by a spring, in one portion of the 

 northern cliffs. This pool is nearly choked with the one 

 aquatic plant found on the island — CaUitriclte stagnalis, — and 

 its sides are beautifully draped by luxuriant specimens of the 

 Lady Fern. 



Brechou is three quarters of a mile long from east to 

 west, and 360 yards wide. The elevated interior contains about 

 one hundred acres, sixty of which are under cultivation, the 

 crops chiefly consisting of wheat, barley, oats, parsnips, beans 

 and beet. 



There are two or three rough pastures on the island, the 

 rest of the uncultivated land being covered by the abundant 

 heath (Erica cinerea), or occupied by a rough tangle of furze, 

 bracken, and bramble. No trees grow here ; the taller shrubs are 

 represented by a few bushes of the Sallow willow, which have 

 probably been planted, and a few plants of Tamarisk near the 



