THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



77 



in holes ; and in one or two safe and secluded spots the Chough and the 

 Peregrine Falcon still rear their young. 



The " Stack " rocks, which, though within a stone's-throw of the cliff, are 

 barely accessible, possess another source of interest from the great masses of 

 Tree mallow, Lavatera arbor -ea, growing upon them, and visibly blossoming 

 most abundantly, although the plant has almost totally deserted the accessible 

 cliffs. This is more remarkable as it is growing in plenty in cottage gardens 

 all over the country and seeds abundantly, so that no temptation has existed 

 to gather it in dangerous places. Other interesting plants are still to be 

 found among the rocks, such as Helianthemum canum, Inula crithmoides and 

 Asplenium marinum, which last flourishes most luxuriantly in deep fissures, 

 which communicate with the sea two hundred feet below. Silene maritima 

 is also common on the rocks, and of course the pretty Armeria vulgaris, with 

 its usual attendants in such places — Sesia philanthiformis and Sericoris 

 litiorana. The short turf on the top is abundantly garnished in the spring 

 with the pretty blue flowers of Scylla verna, and sometimes enlivened in an 

 extraordinary manner by myriads of Herbula cespitalis. The allied Ennychia 

 cingulalis is also common, but much given to frequenting the brink of a 

 precipice, where its capture is not unattended with danger. 



From Linney Head the shore tends inward, forming a sandy bay some 

 miles in extent, backed by extensive sand warrens, the home of thousands of 

 rabbits, and the feeding ground of hundreds of sheep. In the deeper valleys 

 of these sandhills Argynnis aglaia, Lyccena Medon {Agestis=Astrarche) i and 

 L. agon fly in plenty, here also a fine and beautiful specimen of Laphygma 

 exigua condescended, one sunny day last September, to fly up, and down 

 again almost at my feet. But this is not a rich locality for moths. It hardly 

 seems credible to those acquainted with the similar sandhills of the east, 

 south, and north-west coast, that Agrotis cursoria has never been found 

 here, that A. valligera and Leucania littoralis are very scarce, and A. tritici 

 very far from common, and to all appearance nothing, unless Stenopteryx 

 hybridalis, take their place. Of plants, Euphorbia Portlandica is common 

 here, as along many miles of the coast, and more rarely may be found the 

 handsome yellow horned poppy (Glaucium luteum), and the Henbane 

 (Hyoseyamus niger) . Some of the flat places produce plenty of Gentiana 

 amarella, very stunted, and the marshes formed along the rivulets by beds of 

 clay on the slopes, produce Epipactis palustris and Samolus valerandi. One 

 such spot in the hollow of the sandhills, which is even a pond in wet weather, 

 produced Hydrocotyle vulgaris in flower and fruit in great abundance. 

 Helix pisana has not reached this locality, and the only interesting land shell 

 is an unicolorous purple variety of Helix virgala, but with marine shells it is 



