A VISIT TO THE SCILLY ISLES. 
269 
explained, in accordance with the theory I have been illustrating, by 
the fact that in these herbaceous plants the great stem and branch 
system is almost entirely aborted, the energy usually expended 
upon these being retained within the organism, thus accelerating 
and intensifying the development of green foliage and of brightly- 
coloured blossom. 
NOTES ON A VISIT TO THE SCILLY ISLES AND THE 
TBESCO GrABDENS.* 
BY W. P. MARSHALL. 
The Scilly Isles are a group of small islands situated about 
forty miles beyond the Land’s End, and reached by a steamer from 
Penzance that goes daily in the summer, taking three to four 
hours in the passage. 
The islands are very numerous, but only five of them are 
inhabited—St. Mary’s, Tresco, Bryher, St. Martin’s, and St. Agnes 
—and the population is very small, only about 2,000 altogether. 
The islands are all very small; the largest—St. Mary’s—being 
under 2 miles wide and 2| miles long ; and they are very near 
together, with only one or two miles of sea between them. 
St. Mary’s is the principal island, and the steamers from Penzance 
land there. The population of the islands consists largely of fisher¬ 
men, but there is a sufficient quantity of grain and cattle grown on 
the islands for the maintenance of the inhabitants. 
The striking feature in the appearance of the islands is the 
rocky cliffs and the numerous detached rocks scattered about the 
coast, which form singularly picturesque and beautiful objects ; and 
there is a great variety of sailing trips to be taken amongst the 
* Read before tbe Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, 
October lOtb, 1893. 
December, 1893. 
