82 



Excursion. 



The coldness of the season caused the cliffs to be unusually 

 bare of flowers. Thrift, Sea Campion, Danish Scurvy Grass, 

 Butcher's Broom, Naked-stalked Teesdalia and others were 

 found in bloom. Trichonema bulbocodium (Columna's Tri- 

 chonema) a small plant of the Iris tribe was in full flower. 

 This pretty little plant is only found at one spot in England, 

 viz., a sandy pasture near Dawlish, but it is very abundant on 

 all our coasts, the guide told us that its roots are frequently 

 cooked and eaten. Fine plants of Asplenium Marinum were 

 seen ornamenting the roofs of the caves ; and seedling plants 

 covered the floor in the Creux aux Cniens. A. lanceolatum 

 flourished in the crt vices of those immense rocky masses which 

 rise so boldly through the turf of the cliff ; and some of the 

 ladies were surprised when shewn they had all unconsciously 

 been standing on a bed of Ophioglossum Lusitanicum. 



Mr. Luff drew attention to the curious cone-shaped cases 

 of the larvse of a small moth, Solenobia Tabulella which were 

 feeding on the lichen covering the rocks. These larvse form 

 their cases of the lichens, and consequently can scarcely be 

 distinguished except when moving. These moths are very 

 abundant on rocks and walls throughout Guernsey and Sark, 

 but are of rare occurrence in England. The female never 

 acquires wings. He also found numerous cases of small 

 Caddis worm attached to the undersides of stones in one of the 

 streams running across the cliff. The cases were of an oval 

 shape and composed of fragments of stone cemented together. 

 The worm is probably the larva of Philopotamus insularis, a 

 very beautiful caddis-fly new to science, and only known to 

 occur in Guernsey. But the most valuable find of the day 

 occurred on the return near La Marcherie, where Mr. F. Lukis 

 was fortunate enough to espy a Celt or worked flint among 

 the newly-laid road metal. 



