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freely in cool, moist weather. A Guernsey winter suits them exactly, as is fully testified by the abundance and perfection of their flowers in May and June; and that the summer is equally favourable is proved by the great abundance of seed they yield. In some cases, as in the genera sparaxis, babiana, and tritonia, the seed plants itself and the plant becomes naturalised. So, also, the ixia longiflora, and hybrids derived from it, have become weeds difficult to eradicate, owing to the rapidity with which their bulbs multiply and the power they possess of vegetating, although buried to a good depth below the surface. There is a pale green coloured ixia, considered one of the curiosities of Guernsey.

The Guernsey lily, a species believed to have been brought accidentally from Japan, is another instance of a rare and beautiful plant that has become so common as to be characteristic. The great beauty of the rich red flower of this lily, and the fact, that it flowers regularly once in two or three years in the island, while it can seldom be made to flower a second time in England, are subjects of great pride to the islanders. The belladonna is a yet more handsome lily, flowering regularly every year (after the bulb has attained its flowering size), even more freely than the real Guernsey lily. The gardens, even those of the smallest cottagers, are generally decorated with plants and flowers of these and other kinds; and bouquets are collected and sold for a few pence in the market, that might with a little more taste in arrangement command a large price at Covent Garden.

Fuchsias of the commoner kinds attain the height of fifteen or twenty feet. They have large, woody, tree-like stems, and are covered with flowers at almost all seasons. A verbena also (or rather the Aloysia citriodora of botanists, the common lemon plant, formerly called a verbena) presents the form and proportions of a tree, the long, drooping branches attaining great length.

The Mexican aloe (agave americana) grows rapidly in sheltered

places and flowers freely in from twenty to thirty years, the flower stalk often attaining a height of from thirty to forty feet. The finest specimens are in Guernsey, near the centre of the island, and are often magnificent masses of vegetation, the leaves attaining a length of from eight to nine feet before flowering commences. The spikes of flower are very large. A beautiful specimen is represented in the engraving in page 491. A number of these aloes have been planted in sheltered rocky places, near the public walks recently constructed under the cliffs of Fort George, Guernsey. They will, no doubt, prove very attractive and picturesque, when grown.*

Yuccas of various species are common, and grow very freely. Neither they nor the aloes seem to require shelter and careful treatment, except when the cold is unusually intense.

Guernsey abounds with rare grasses, one of which, lagurus ovatus, has been transplanted and cultivated with success, for ornamental purposes in England. The elegant pampas grass is now seen waving its noble tuft of flaxen or pink feathers in most of the grounds in and near the town, and is evidently quite hardy. It attains a height of twelve or fourteen feet. The canna Indica, a tender tropical plant, is acclimatised. It grows from two to three feet high, with handsome leaves, and produces abundance of seeds, which strongly resemble in size and appearance swan shot. The plant is commonly known by the name of Indian shot. It is used by the cottagers instead of laths for training plants on the walls.

*The following note is added by Mr. Carré. "I have never known the sg.se suffer from cold or wind, even in exposed situations, and the ordinary species { yucca are still more hardy." The aloe figured in the illustration referred to, re presents an individual that flowered two years ago.

THE trade of the Channel Islands is not inconsiderable, but does not arise from any important manufactures. Ship building, formerly carried on to a much greater extent than lately, has been checked, both in Jersey and Guernsey, partly by the modification of the timber duties in England, but very much more by the greater cheapness of iron in the mother country, and the fact that this metal now enters so largely in the construction of ships. A profitable carrying trade, to and from Newfoundland, is still carried on by the island vessels, but this is, perhaps, not likely to increase.*

*The shipping of Jersey (1862) is carried on by 432 ships, measuring 40,304

The chief exports of the islands are as follow:-Granite, for paving purposes; fruit and vegetables; fish, oysters, and crustaceans; cows and heifers. In addition to these objects of trade with foreign ports, a considerable number of bricks are manufactured both in Jersey and Guernsey, of which two and a-quarter millions were exported in 1861 from the former island. There are also some small local manufactures which will be considered in their place.

Stone.

A very large and important stone traffic is carried on in Guernsey, the granite of which island, broken up for paving purposes, is largely used in London, owing to the extreme hardness and toughness of the material, and the fact that, in wearing, it does not become slippery. Numerous sailing ships are employed in conveying the stone, and these ships, when unloaded, proceed to Newcastle for coals, thus making a round trip. Steamers also carry a considerable quantity as ballast.

The Guernsey syenite (blue Guernsey granite) is extremely dense. Its specific gravity, as determined from carefully-selected average samples, is 2.83, nearly the same as the best Pen-manmawr, and much higher than Mount Sorrel syenite, which is only 2.65.* The best is obtained from several large quarries on the north-east coast, and its resistance to crushing weights is six tons to the square inch in place of three tons, which destroys

tons (average 93 tons per ship); that of Guernsey by 122 ships, measuring 17,573 tons (average 146 tons per ship). The greater average tonnage of the Guernsey vessels is accounted for by the number of small vessels in Jersey engaged in the oyster trade.

These results were obtained, a few years ago, by the late T. H. Henry, Esq. F.R.S., for the author, in the course of a comparative enquiry conducted by hẩm in reference to the durability of road metal. The relative value of the different road-metals for special purposes is an important subject to determine, and cre involving many practical difficulties. Neither the Herm nor Jersey granite ap pear to be so durable, and the Cornish and Aberdeen are far inferior

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the average of Cornish material. A practical test of the value of this material was obtained several years ago on the road leading to the East and West India Docks, in London, where, after seventeen months of the hardest trial, the loss per superficial foot was from four to five pounds, while good Dartmoor granite lost 12 lbs., and Aberdeen blue granite 14 lbs. There is no doubt of the excellence of the material, and the cost is not excessive.

Some of the other properties of the Guernsey syenite render it especially valuable for the purposes for which it is chiefly used in London, Portsmouth, and other large towns, where there is much heavy traffic. Composed of crystals of felspar and hornblende bedded in hard quartz, these crystals and the quartz being all of different hardness, the various parts of the stone become differently worn by the same traffic, and the surface thus remains rough. All the ingredients being in a state little decomposable by any exposure to which they are liable, the amount of weathering is strictly confined to the parts removed by mechanical abrasion; this not being assisted, as in most granites, by a chemical action increasing with the wear. The Grooby cubes from Leicestershire (near Mount Sorrel), are the only stones that compete with the Guernsey stone. Both are of syenite, and each has properties rendering it best adapted for certain kinds of wear. The Guernsey is the best for extreme. and incessant wear.

Besides the ordinary cubes and pitchers for paving, a considerable quantity of granite is cut and sold for kerbs, and not a little of the more ornamental varieties is valuable for architectural purposes. The stone is generally small grained, and has numerous natural backs. It can, however, be obtained in blocks of considerable size. There have been, in all, upwards of fifty large quarries opened, but few are in actual exploitation at present for the supply of London. A large quantity of the smaller stone and chippings is valuable.