THE FLORA OF BRECHOU. 165 



inhabited so long- ago as 1836, the difficulty and uncertainty 

 of access has led to its occasional abandonment, and in 1860 

 Brechou seems to have been deserted. There is a tradition 

 that a frigate once passed through the Gouliot Passage, and a 

 trip through this picturesque little strait often forms an inte- 

 resting item in marine excursions from Guernsey and Sark. 



Kestrels are frequently seen ; sparrow-hawks are not 

 uncommon ; and the loud pipe of the oyster-catcher is a 

 familiar sound. Although not concerned with matters entomo- 

 logical, I may mention that when on the island I captured two 

 Cream Spot Tiger Moths ( Arctia villica) and two or three 

 specimens of the Rose Chafer {Cetonia aurata), that beautiful 

 beetle which, though so prominent a feature of the Sark insect 

 fauna, has not yet been discovered in Guernsey. 



The insects, marine zoology, lichens, mosses, fungi, and 

 seaweeds of the island are all rich and untouched fields of 

 exploration, and should tempt the zealous naturalist, for nearly 

 everything found would be a first record. 



Seven lichens from Brechou are recorded in Mr. 

 Marquand's " Flora of Guernsey and the Lesser Channel 

 Islands." With this exception nothing was known of the 

 vegetation of the island, not even a single Flowering Plant 

 being recorded. It was this that induced me in the summer of 

 1902 to pay it a number of visits, the following list being the 

 result of my investigations. My visits were made on the 11th, 

 14th, 17th, and 30th July, and the 22nd, 26th, and 28th 

 August. As the summer of 1902 was late and cool, I was 

 fortunate enough to find some of the spring plants in flower ; and 

 other early species, though not in flower, were still en evidence, 

 e.g., Romulea Columnce ; so that the Flora I have drawn up 

 probably gives a very fair idea of the island vegetation, and I 

 do not think many flowering plants and ferns remain to be 

 added to the list. What plants still remain unrecorded should 

 be looked for, of course, in the spring. 



As Brechou is merely a detached portion of Sark, one 

 would expect the flora to resemble very closely that of the 

 neighbouring island, and this we find to be the case, only two 

 of the native Brechou species being unrecorded for Sark. 

 These are the Bush Vetch ( Vicia scpium) which is not uncom- 

 mon in places on the north coast, and the Adder's Tongue 

 Fern (Ophioglossiim mdgatwm) which occurs as the very rare 

 variety ambiguum, near the pool on the north coast. It grows 

 here very sparingly and is the chief rarity of the island. 



Stellaria graminea, Malva ?noschata, Lavatera arborea, 

 Vicia tetraspcrma, Trifolium svffocatum, Potentilla Tormen- 



