Towards the sea the botanist will find abundance of eryngo or sea-holly, which is a truly marine plant and exceedingly nutritious, the young tops being eaten as asparagus; also fine specimens of samphire, which is far superior to that of Grande Rocque and the neighbourhood. Here, and in the vicinity of Lihou are the chief places for the gathering of vraic, which from the 17th of July to the 31st of August is one general scene of activity, and is well worthy the attention of the stranger, as it is a peculiar feature in the island character. In this bustling affair he will observe bands of country people, men, women, and children, trooping towards the rocks in one uniform spirit of hilarity and glee, of whom some are not unfrequently crowned with flowers and other fantastical head-dresses. On the receding of the tide they disperse themselves among the rocks, the strongest, be it on horse-back or on foot, striving to attain the richest point. When the vraic is abundant they gather it with a kind of sickle or reaping hook, throwing it in heaps on a certain rock marked by a number of pebbles or chalking the name. Where carts are not accessible they bear it at full speed on horse-back, and some few on their shoulders. On the approach of the tide or end of their labour, the lads lead the lasses to bathe, which is a fund of amusement to those unaccustomed to the sight, for what with the merriment of the men and the shrieks of the timid girls, all is confusion and uproar. However this soon subsides as the evening mellow approaches, as there is no small expectation of something that exceeds all, inasmuch as it is usual to have an entertainment on the like scale. Such being the case, the country inns throw up a kind of canopy, which is tastefully decorated with flowers and surmounted with fern; the whole of the fabric being propped up with posts. A variety of cheer takes place, which is closed by an evening dance, generally undertaken by the young _vraicquers_. This highly characteristic native scenery is equally prevalent at the bays of Le Rée, La Parelle and the Vazon. The land in this district is liberally supplied with vraic, which in connexion with a good active soil is capable of producing the best crops, especially potatoes, which in some instances are six Guernsey bushels to the perch, or at the rate of about twenty tons to the English acre. The farms are generally from thirty to forty vergées, and if there is a predominance of meadow land, they usually manure two vergées, which is about one fifteenth. In other districts they manure one in four, and disperse at least four loads to the vergée. The medical herbs are in usual character with those of Torteval and other upland parishes, wherefore the botanist will fall in with tolerable specimens of potentilla tormentilla, which according to the dryness of the soil, varies in its virtues as an astringent. [Illustration]