THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



2 45 



seen before. The Rubus fvuticosus was very fine and large — and ripe — 

 the consequence being that one of us declined swim number two, 

 which was the better of the two, referring to a sensation as of ' broken 

 corkscrews ' in his interior. We now had to hurry under the broiling 

 sun to the steamer, mine host of the Bel- Air Hotel rubbing his hands 

 at the thought of our missing it, and having to return to him for the 

 night ; shedding drops of salty water as we ran down the sultry valley 

 of Bacca or Baker— so-called I suppose, because people weep when 

 they have to leave this gem of all the Norman Archipelago. So back 

 again, to Guernsey's finest bay, Moulin Huet. Here, in places, you 

 may find after cautious climbing, the Golden Samphire, Inula crith- 

 moides, and the smaller Sea Lavender, Statice occidentalis ; while the 

 commoner Samphire makes great patches of soft green against the 

 many coloured rocks. Of course those pioneers of vegetation — the 

 Lichens, mostly grey or orange, have their home here, and seem to 

 enjoy the salt spray which drenches them. In a few places on the 

 coast are larger caves, formed by the erosion of some dyke or fault of 

 a stone softer than the prevailing.granite and gneiss. These, are not lit 

 up, nor otherwise disfigured with coloured Christmas-tree lamps, nor 

 are there guides who bawl out — " 'Ere may be seen the organ chamber 

 of Queen Elizabeth. ' We will now pass on to the 'All of Mystery, 

 and observe the curious formation like the 'ind quarters of a helephant: 

 and, — a little more to the right, please ladies and gentlemen, — -the 

 stalagmite which exactly resembles a poached egg." No. The Creux 

 Mahie is sometimes lit with magnesium flame, but the visitor is 

 allowed to admire and wonder in silence, while the dull booming of the 

 restless sea outside, makes appropriate music. When accustomed to 

 the light of day once more, we shall see the small blue stars of the 

 autumn squill, S cilia autumnalis, dotting the cliffs everywhere in August. 



In February, if you have luck, and make diligent search you shall 

 find that tiny Adder's-tongue fern, Ophioglossum lusitanicum, with its inch 

 high frond, only found about the cliffs near Petit Bot bay. Here and 

 there in the sunshine, flits like a flame, that rare Tiger moth, Callimovpha 

 hem with its wings barred with black instead of being spotted like its 

 British cousin. Near here (Moulin Huet), I saw several noteworthy 

 plants, such as that rare Toadflax, Linaria repots, with its fine foliage and 

 wiry stem, and pale, blue flowers veined with a deeper lilac ; Hypericum 

 linaviifolium, the narrow-leaved St. John's wort, approaching H. 

 humifmum in habit, this species is rare even here. In some of the 

 streams leading down to the bays (Fermain, Petit Bot, Moulin Huet) 

 luxuriates the " Giant Rhubarb," so-called, " Gunnera scabra. Its 

 prickly leaves six feet high and four feet across ; the stems as thick 

 as one's wrist, armed with hard spines. The flower and fruit grows 

 in a hard cylindrical spike a yard high, and when ripe is covered with 



