Botanical rambles in Braemar in 1844; with an appendix on Forfarshire botany

Botanical rambles in
aa

GARDINER, W.
DWEP'

FIS\92

Covess Post oy vie. F2, AG

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

http://archive.org/details/botanicalramblesOOgard

extent, bounded on the south by the River Tay.

Ranunculacee,
Nymphezacez, .
Papaveraces,
Fumariacese, .
Cruciferz,
Recedaceze, 0
Cistinese, 0
Violariez, .
Droseracee,
Polygaleze,
Caryophyllez,
Linez, 9 6
Malvacez, .
Tiliacez, .
Hypericinez,
Acerinez,
Geraniacex,
Oxalidex,
Leguminose,
Rosaceze,
Onagrariz,
Halorageze,
Portulacez,
Paronychiee,
Crassulacez,
Grossularie,
Saxifrageze,
Umbelliferee,
Araliaces,
Caprifoliaces,
BiUbiAesy 6
Valerianese,
Dipsaceze, .
Composite, .
Campanulacez,

Filices, S

Lycopodiacesx, .

Equisetacez,
Musci, 9

moe

(PPD AD DAI

VASCULARES,:

GEN.

SPEC,
14

ORD.
Vaccines,
Ericesx, .
Monotropezx,
Tlicinex, 5
Jasmines,
Gentianez,
Convolvulaceze,
Boraginez,
Solanexz, . 5
Scrophularines,
Labiate, . :
Lentibulariz,
Primulaces, .
Plumbagineze,
Plantaginese,
Chenopodex,
Polygonez,
Empetree,
Euphorbiacee,
Urtice, 0
Ulmacez,
Amentacex,
Coniferee,
Alismacez,
Juncaginers, .
Aroidex,
Pistiaceze,
Naiades,. .
Asphodelez,
Junceze,
Orchidez,
Tridez, .
Graminex,
Cyperaceze,

PSR TAYE wa
WY 4

Y

QreuagraTe Tec

APO

ei

Hepaticee,
Lichenes,
Characez, .

78 Orders, 387 Genera, 766 Species, and numerous Varieties.

nan

RAP AARAAAA

W.G. wishes it to be understood, that the above tabular view of the Dundee
Flora includes only what he has personally seen up to this date; and has no
doubt but that it will be much extended by farther observation, especially i

BOTANICAL RAMBLES.

REEKY LINN, CRAIGHALL, BRAEMAR.

A June morning in the country, to one who has just escaped
from the noise, and smoke, and bustle of a populous town,
is a luxury indeed! It is like entering upon a new state of
existence, where all is changed to purity and peace. The
air one breathes is fresh, and sweet with the perfume of
flowers; the verdant hue of the fields and woods invigorates
and delights the eye; the ear is soothed with the happy
sounds of innocence and love; and all around are thousands
of blossoms arrayed in their varied robes of loveliness, to
gladden the heart, and awaken its holiest thoughts and feel-
ings; for

** A flower is not a flower alone—

A thousand sanctities invest it;
And as they form a radiant zone,
Around its simple beauty thrown,

Their magic tints become its own,
As if their spirits had possess’d it.”

Such a delicious morning was the 24th of June; and I
could have lingered by the fragrant hedge-rows, where the
merry bee was sipping the honied treasures of the wild rose,
to admire the beautiful structure of Flora’s more common
productions, and hold sweet converse with such humble gems
as the daisy and the violet ; but, as the purpose of my present
mission was to search out her rarities, all tendency to loiter-
ing, where these were not to be found, had to be subdued.

2

After leaving the Railway at Newtyle, I walked across the
rich How or Vale of Strathmore to the little town of Alyth,
on the opposite side; near to which was picked, in shallow
pools, the Pilularia globulifera, where I have found it for
several successive seasons. Three miles beyond Alyth, I
came upon that noble waterfall on the Isla called the “Reeky
Linn,” the chief object of this day’s ramble. It is situated
at the head of the Den of Airly, into which the whole waters
of the Isla are precipitated in three magnificent leaps. The
noise of the falling torrent is heard at some distance, and a
misty vapour continually arises, like a smoke or reek (hence
the name), caused by a jutting rock, at the base of the cliffs,
obstructing the force of the waters ere they have finally
reached the bottom of the dark abyss below. The rocky
steeps around are bright with a gay garniture of verdure and
flowers, and crowned with overshawdowing trees, through
which the sun’s beams come wandering in search of hidden
beauties. Fine walks are laid out on the southern bank,
from which various views of the fall and adjacent scenery are
obtained; but it is seen to most advantage from a projecting
cliff a little way down the northern bank, where the eye at a
glance embraces not only the whole majesty of the foaming
cataract, with its surrounding rocks and woods, but also the
Bridge of Craig, and the distant hills of Glen Isla, which
form an appropriate background to the picture.

The elegant Orobus sylvaticus and Melampyrum sylvati-
cum were here in profusion, growing under the shade of the
trees, but entirely confined to the northern bank. Solidago
Virgaurea . was plentiful on both sides of the river, close
by the margin, and Alchemilla alpina, with Meum athaman-
ticum, had left their Highland homes to dwell here. Galium
- boreale was abundant, and hosts of more common plants load-
ed the rocks and the banks with their flowery wealth.

In April, I visited this place, and collected nearly sixty
different species of cryptogamic plants; among which were

3

Equisetum hyemale, Didymodon Brunton, and flexicaulis,
Weissia striata, Encalypta ciliata, Hedwigia estiva, Brywm
marginatum, Trichostomum polyphyllum, Zygodon Mou-
geotii, Hypnum pulchellum, catenulatum and plumosum,
Neckera crispa, Peltidea venosa, Nephroma resupinata, and
various hepatic, including Jungermannia Blasia in fructi-
fication.

The evening proved rainy; but ere then my vasculums
were stored with plenty of the Orobus and Melampyrum,
and I was well pleased, though my walk of seven miles to the
village of Rattray was a moist one.

Next morning was as favourable as a botanist could wish.
The sun shone warm and bright; the shrubs and flowers
exhaled their sweetest odours; and as I entered Craighall
woods, the warbling music that saluted my ear told that
many a leafy recess had its feathered inhabitants, all as happy
as a fine summer morning could make them.

Craighall is a very picturesque house, perched on the brink
of a lofty precipice overlooking the Ericht, about two miles
above Blairgowrie. The banks of the Ericht are steep and
rocky, and thickly clothed with wood on both sides, all the
way up to Craighall, and there the cliffs rise perpendicularly
to the height of several hundred feet, forming a scene of sin-
gular grandeur. Among these woods, and the rocks that
margin the river, many good plants are found. LKighteen
days earlier, I gathered there the rare and graceful Conval-
laria verticillata, the two elegant Melic grasses, Melica wni-
flora and nutans, Polypodium Phegopteris and Dryopteris,
Rubus sazxatilis, Mehringia trinervis, and several mosses,
lichens, and hepaticee. On the present visit, I picked a
specimen or two of Lychnis Viscaria and Neottia Nidus-
Avis, and gathered rather sparingly Circeea alpina. By the
river side, among the rocks, plenty of Solidago Virgaurea 8.
was ‘rearing its racemes of golden flowers ; and in moist shady
crevices, the delicate Cystopteris fragilis spread out its

4

beautiful fronds. In one place, the Hymenophyllum Wilson
was found, covering a small portion of the surface of a per-
pendicular rock, among Jungermannia spinulosa and creep-
ing Hypna, and this is the kind of situation it is usually
found in. Near it, on a wet rocky bank, grew very fine spe-
cimens of Lycopodium selaginoides, Fegetella hemispherica,
and Hypnum commutatum. Several other good crypto-
gamic plants occurred among the rocks, particularly Junger-
manma pubescens, Encalypta ciliata, and Bartramia gra-
cilis,—the latter bearing fructification copiously, though this
is esteemed rare. Geranium sylvaticum, Lychnis diurna,
and Pyrola minor, ornamented the woods, which were in
some places carpeted with strawberries and violets, and occa-
sionally Vicia sylvatica and V. cracca festooned the shrubbery
and underwood with their graceful flowers. The evening
sun was fast declining, and his golden rays lighting up with
a glorious lustre the green foliage of these shady retreats, ere
I thought of leaving them ; for,

“Where buds are fresh, and every tree
Is vocal with the notes of love,”

one does not count the moments and think them hours.

Early on the 26th,.I lett Rattray, and proceeded by Glen
Ericht, the Black Water, Glen Shee, Glen Beg, and Glen
Clunie, to the Castleton of Braemar, distant about thirty-
three miles. For eighteen miles, the scenery was rich and
varied, and the glens wore the cheering smile of cultivation ;
but, after leaving the Spittal of Glen Shee, the country
became thoroughly wild and mountainous. Through the
narrow and solitary Glen Beg the road ascended gradually to
the top of the Cairnwell, where the occurrence of Gnapha-
lium supinum, Saxifraga stellaris, and other plants of a
similar kind indicated a good elevation. Entering Aberdeen-
shire, it then descended through Glen Clunie to Castleton,
where I arrived late in the evening. High up the Glen, on
boggy heaths, the Rubus Chamemorus was flowering beauti-

5)

fully ; but the evening breeze seemed to be amusing itself
with scattering the full-blown blossoms.

I was now in Braemar—in the very bosom of the High-
lands! Scotland’s proudest mountains were around me, and
I longed for next morning’s sun to dispel the mists, that I
might gaze upon their majestic forms, and

“ Breathe those airs that wander free
O’er banks of thyme and blooming heather.”

THE LINN OF CORRYMULZIE.

“ The morn is up again, the dewy morn,
With breath all incense, and with cheek all bloom,—
Laughing the clouds away with playful scorn,
And living as if earth contain’d no tomb.”

The white mists were now slowly rising up the mountain-
sides, disclosing the “land of brown heath” in all its glory,
but still chequered here and there with fields of glittering
snow, though a warm summer-morning sun was showering
his rosy beams upon it. Many a grey rock was bathing itself
in the orient ray, and many a bristling pine clothed the
slopes of the lower hills. The bosom of the vale, through
which flowed the lovely Dee, had its fields and meadows
mantled with luxuriance; and the village, with its bridge
across the murmuring Clunie, its mill, its inns, and its two
elegant spired churches, stood forth in all the resplendence of
morning.

Tt was such a morning as I could have wished

“To climb
Some breezy summit’s brow sublime:”

But it was yet rather early for many of the alpine plants, and
I decided upon botanizing some of the lower ground first.

The road up Deeside from Castleton winded beautifully
Al joe

6

among fragrant birch-woods, in which profusion of Vaccini-
um Myrtillus, and Vitis-Idea, Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi,
and Empetrum nigrum were intermingled with the heath.
Here and there were scattered the starry flowers of the
Trientalis europea, with little clumps of Gnaphalium dioi-
cum and the slender Melampyrum pratense 8. montanum ;
and on rather dry moory spots, the Pedicularis sylvatica
occurred, with a white corolla. The air was still and warm;
the small birds vied with each other who would breathe the
sweetest music; the cuckoo “sighed along the vale;” the
voices of rooks came from far-off woods, softened by the dis-
tance; and ever and anon the ear caught the sound of the
“river rushing o’er its pebbled bed ”
“ The birch-trees wept in fragrant balm,”

while the graceful squirrel gambolled among their branches ;
and the bee murmured from flower to flower, and luxuriated

in those sunny spots where
“ Heath flowers clustering wild glow with empurpled light.”

Now a variegated butterfly would float past on noiseless wing ;
then a timid doe would peep out from the verdant covert ;
and at every opening among the trees, or turn of the road,
glimpses of beautiful scenery would burst upon and delight
the eye; so that my walk was altogether a pleasant one.
About two miles from Castleton, down the wooded side of
the Carr-Hill, runs a little stream, forming near the wayside
a tiny waterfall called the “Carr Linn,” about which I picked
Hypnum pulchellum and stellatum, Tetraphis pellucida,
Bryum crudum and ventricosum, Hookeria lucens, and
_Jungermannia albicans ; and the trunks of the birch-trees
were abundantly invested with the wide-spreading patches of
the elegant Orthotrichum Drummondii. Nearly two miles

farther on,
“JT sought a lonely, woody dell,
Where all things soft and sweet—
Birds, flowers, and trees, and running streams—
’ Mid bright sunshine did meet;”

7

And into that dell the Linn of Corrymulzie poured its
sparkling waters. A bridge spanned the stream above, and
a zigzag staircase led down the rocks to the foot of the fall,
which, though not of great size, was very beautiful. The
rocks were everywhere profusely decorated with flowers, and
green moss, and tufted ferns; and a rich diversity of trees—
birch, plane, larch, laburnum, and mountain-ash—intermin-
gling their branches and foliage, produced a most pleasing
effect. The path down this delicious dell was like a little
paradise: It was so cool, so verdant, so full of beauty and
perfume, and the warbling melody of birds so harmoniously
blended with the refreshing sound of falling waters, that one
felt as if in fabled fairyland. Bright insects were flitting
about through the trees, and among others I noticed one
that has long been a favourite, the lovely and delicate lace-
winged fly, and which recalled to memory a few lines ad-
dressed to one several years ago. Those of my kind and
good-natured readers acquainted with the insect, will, I hope,
attribute my introducing them here to the right motive—a
desire of awakening pleasurable thoughts and associations.

TO THE LACE-WINGED FLY.

Bright fly ! thou recallest the sweet days of my childhood,
When, wandering alone through the green sunny wildwood,
To pull the fresh cowslips all drooping in dew,

And list to the ring-dove so plaintively coo,

I there first beheld thee, in happy repose,—

Thy pillow the half-open’d leaves of a rose.

How enraptured I stood! and, in silent surprise,

View’d thy fair pearly wings and thy bright golden eyes!
And how with delight my young bosom did glow
‘When thou mountedst aloft to the cherry-tree’s bough,
And then, in the wake of a clear sunny ray,

Rose far in the blue sky, and vanish’d away !

And still, when I visit the woodland’s green bowers,
To quaff the rich breath of the gay summer flowers,
And hear the sweet birds in their happiness singing,

_ Till all the glad echoes with music are ringing,
I love to behold thee on rose-blossoms sitting,
Or under the fragrant trees merrily flitting,
Thy beauty—the pleasure thou seem’st to inherit—
Impart a pure ray of delight to my spirit ;

&

For who can be sad while a creature like thee,

With so fragile a form, yet so happy can be?

Does He who has clothed thee in vestments so fair,

And fed thee, and watch’d thee with tenderest care,

Not watch over all with unwearying eye,

And pour from 4 fountain that never runs dry

His kindness unbounded on great and on small,

And his power and his love that sustaineth them all?
Then welcome, bright fly ! for a teacher thou art,

That can win, with thy gentle persuasion, my heart:

No anger—no threatenings—thou usest to awe me;

But with Love's silken cord dost more easily draw me—

To willingly offer, at Gratitude’s shrine,

The Spirit’s pure praise to thy Maker and mine.

Among other plants growing in this dell were Rubus saz-
atilis, Melica nutans, and uniflora Melampyrum sylvaticum,
and pratense, and abundance of Epilobiwm angustifolium,
but not in flower. The Melampyrum sylvaticum had some
of its flowers of a deep orange colour. Carex pulicaris and
pallescens were in perfection on moist rocky banks, and I
culled a specimen or two of the beautiful and apparently dis-
tinct Luzula multiflora. Cystopteris fragilis and Asple-
nium viride adorned the rocky crevices; some of the trees
had their trunks clothed with richly fructified Anomodon
curtipendulum, and Jungermannia furcata 2. elongata de-
pended in loose broad green patches from the rocks. Bar-
tramia Halleriana occurred among the rocks in dense tufts,
with Weissia curvirostra, Hypnum pulchellum and stellatum,
and where water was trickling Weissia acuta and Fissidens
adiantoides. There had been here primroses, cowslips, wood-
roof, and wood-anemonies; but they were all past flowering,
and some of the leaves of the latter were covered with Aici-

*dium leucospermum. Near the foot of the dell, the barberry
was flowering, and on its leaves plenty of Aicidium Berber-
“ides.

With a light heart and heavy vasculums, I returned from
Corrymulzie when the lark was leaving his station in the
blue sky, and the brilliancy of day giving place to the soft-
ness of evening. °

5

Behind Craig Vallich’s heathy brow,
The glorious sun is setting now ;
And Koynoch’s rocky front doth gleam,
Resplendent in his parting beam ;
While, through the twilight groves below,
The Dee with murmuring voice doth flow,—
A voice so soothing and so calm,
And blent with evening’s honied balm,
And sighing winds, and mellow song
Of blackbird, the green woods among,
That one would think some happy band
Had left a while the better land,
To breathe, from golden harp and lute,
A strain that might some sinner’s foot
From Evil’s thorny path allure,
And lead him to that Fountain pure,
From whence doth ever freely flow,
In Heaven above and earth below,
The warmest love, the brightest joy,
And pleasure that knows no alloy.

BEN-NA-BOURD.

“ The mountain-breeze! the fresh—the free!
O! bring the arrowy breeze to me !

Be mine, the breathing heights to stem,

The hill’s empurpling diadem—

To seek—to meet—the rushing flow

That thrills my heart and cools my brow;
And feel my bosom gladly bound,

To catch its soul-inspiring sound.”

The second sun of July was brightening with his early
beams the waters of the Dee, when I left Castleton, with a
guide, for the lofty mountain-solitudes of Ben-na-Bourd.
About a quarter of a mile from the village, we crossed the
Dee in a boat ferried over by a picturesque-looking kilted
boatman, who chained his little bark to a tree on the opposite
bank. Passing the boatman’s pretty cottage, we entered

the fresh woods, where
“Song, fragrance, health, ambrosiate every breeze ;””

and, after walking on for some time,

“ Beneath the umbrageous multitude of leaves,”

10

emerged upon the open heath, and came into Glen Candlic ;
up which a road for ponies has been formed by Mr Farquhar-
son of Invercauld, the proprietor, and is continued all
the way, gradually ascending, to the west shoulder of Ben-na-
Bourd. In this wild and solitary Glen, plenty of deer were
seen, and Kpilobium angustifolium was not uncommon
among the rocky banks of the stream. Soon after leaving
Glen Candlic, we crossed a stream descending to Glen Quoich,
on the banks of which Arabis petrcea was both in flower and
fruit. The ascent now became steeper, and gave ample oc-
cupation to our respiratory apparatus; the air was keener,
and the sky getting somewhat overcast, threatened us with
mist and rain. On the heaths, I picked Lycopodium an-
notinum, and alpinum, and the rocks and stones invited at-
tention to their rich encrustation of lichens. These consisted
chiefly of Gyrophora deusta, cylindrica, and erosa, Corni-
cularia lanata and tristis, with Parmelia Fahlunensis, and
oceasionally straggling over them Alectoria jubata . cha-
lybeiformis. But what delighted me most was the great
abundance and beauty of that interesting lichen, the Cetraria
Islandica, scattered over the heaths. It was in perfect pro-
fusion, and I picked specimens bearing apothecia in various
states of development, though these were scarce compared to
the abundance of the plant. Its frequent associate, the
elegant Cetraria nivalis, was also plentiful; but in vain tuft
after tuft was examined in the hope of meeting with fructifi-
cation. They here differed considerably in their mode of
growth, as I have seen them do in other places,—the C.
nivalis growing in dense erect tufts, while the C. Islandica
was loosely scattered over the ground, to which it seemed to
be but slightly attached. <A tuft or two of Corincularia
bicolor were gathered, and various Scyphophori displayed
their puzzling forms, some of which could be referred to
Scyphophorus bellidiflorus, and others to S. filiformis. On
the banks of a stream, before attaining the top of the moun-

1]

tain, I found Saaifraga stellaris, Tofieldia palustris, and
Veronica alpina, but little else in the shape of flowers oc-
curred. Jungermannia nemorosa 3. purpurascens was fruit-
ing freely ; J. julacea, though barren, was taller and in finer
condition than I had ever seen it before; and several curious
alpine forms of mosses were collected. One was a small
state of Hypnum scorpioides of a bright yellow-green colour,
another a minute state of Bartramia fontana, and a third
Trichostomum aciculare, with the lower portion of the stems
and leaves yellow, and the upper deep green, totally different
in appearance (though agreeing in character) from the usual
dark-foliaged state of the plant. The beautiful Bryum
Ludwigit grew in dense cushion-like tufts, but without fruc-
tification.

On reaching the margin of a considerable field of snow,
a little below the summit, I came upon large patches of
Polytrichum septentrionale, and to my great joy bearing
plenty of capsules! There was a drizzling rain; and the
cold was so severe that my fingers were almost benumbed ;
but the sight of this rarity was enough to diffuse a thrill of
warmth through every nerve, and, for a few minutes. the
effects of the elements were entirely forgotten. I was also
gratified with fine specimens of Dicranum Stark, and
picked up besides, while my guide laid out dinner on a snowy
table, Dicranum falcatum, Trichostomum microcarpum,
Conostomum boreale, Polytrichum hercynicum, and Junger-
mannia scalaris.

After dinner, we were soon on the summit, which is nearly
4000 feet above the level of the sea, and about eight miles
north from Castleton. Here the mountain-breeze was cer-
tainly revelling in all its freshness, but rather too “arrowy ;”
the sky was too murky for allowing the eye to enjoy any ex-
tent of prospect; and the ground was too sterile to produce
much of interest to the botanist. The contrast between this
hard, cold, bare region of clouds, and the soft, warm luxuri-

12

ance of the vale we had left in the morning, was striking.
We had exchanged in a few hours the genial glow and beauty
of summer for the surliness of winter—the mildness of a
temperate for the rigour of an arctic climate—the cheerful
hum of society for the awful depth of Nature’s most sacred
solitude.

The scanty soil-on the summit was clothed with a very
short sward of Juncus trifidus, with here and there stunted
tufts of Luzula spicata, and dwarf clumps of Carex rigida ;
and occasionally, spreading over the low Trichostome and
Cornicularic, were specimens of that var. of Lecanora tar-
tarca named Upsaliensis, and very appropriately by Swartz
Lichen frigidus.

We descended by the Corry (from corr ei in Gaelic, which
means a kettle), a large hollow in the side of the mountain,
surrounded by a circular range of precipices. In most cases,
these corvies have a lake in them, or a bog, where a lake has
formerly been. Where the rocks are micaceous, the ravines,
the steep water-courses, and shelves of the corry-rocks, are
rich in alpine plants, as is the case among the Clova and
Breadalbane mountains; but here, the rocks being of hard
dry granite, are almost destitute of verdure, and, from their
vastness and sterility, present a spectacle of singular subli-
mity and grandeur. At the base of these wild and wintry
cliffs, vegetation began again to invite attention, and Thalic-
trum alpinum showed its small fragile flowers. Gnaphalium
supinum was abundant, but in general not very far advanced,
and in one sheltered spot small specimens of Troilius euro-
peeus were ornamented with their swelling globular flowers
of golden hue. A tuft of Splachnum mnioides was. met
with, anda plant or two of Bryum alpmum in ft. upon a
sunken moist stone, such as is most usually its habitat.
Farther down, the Armeria maritima B. alpina, was found in
flower, equalling the finest sea-gilliflowers on our coasts. On »
the Vaccinium uliginosum, a solitary blossom was here and

IN BRAEMAR

IN 1844 ;

WITH

AN APPENDIX ON FORFARSHIRE BOTANY.

BY

WILLIAM GARDINER, DUNDEE.

“O, Nature ! woods, winds, music, valleys, hills,
And gushing brooks !—in you there is a voice
Of potency—an utterance which instils
Light, life, and freshness, bidding man rejoice
As with a spirit’s transport: From the noise—
The hum of busy towns—to you I fly.”

RR IOI OPPO

:
;
é

DUNDEE.
PRINTED BY JAMES DUFF, No. 39 HIGH STREET.
ue 1845.
ic se

@
# *2)\ NR Re PAIL,

sOc. BOT. EDI”.

PREFACE

THE following pages have been written especially with the
view of affording to those who have participated during the
past year in the writer’s distribution of botanical specimens,
more information about their localities than the labels ac-
companying these specimens could convey. He has accord-
ingly endeavoured to point out, in such a manner that they
may be traced on an ordinary map, the various places bota-
nically visited in the counties of Aberdeen, Perth, and For-
far; described the circumstances under which the plants
were collected, and in some instances, however imperfectly,
the associations which they awoke, and the impressions
made on his mind by the scenery amid which they grew.

This was the primary object contemplated ; but it is also
hoped that these sketches, though of humble pretensions,
may not prove unacceptable to the lovers of Flora generally,
as a faithful record of what has been seen in several rich
botanical districts of old Scotland.

Should they add to the interest of the specimens distri-
buted, or tend to increase the information or contribute to
the amusement of those who may honour them with a per-
usal, the aim of the writer will be fully accomplished.

Overgate, Dundee, January 20, 1845.

13

there met with; but, so deciduous are these, that on reaching
home, scarcely any remained on the plants. The most in-
teresting acquisition on our descent was Azalea procumbens
in flower. This humble but pretty shrub usually grows on
mountain-summits, and, flowering early, is rarely seen in
that state by botanical tourists, whose peregrinations are
generally made towards the end of July, or in August. Its
bright rosy corolla is a perfect gem; and, to all who admire
the beautiful, its contemplation must afford no small share
of delight. The only other plant of interest noticed in our
descent was Betula nana; some clumps of which were
spreading over the heaths, but almost destitute of catkins.
Crossing Cairn-a-Drochel, we descended to Deeside, were
ferried over the river long after twilight had departed, and
reached Castleton, tolerably fatigued, late in the evening.

MORNE.

On the 6th of July, I made an excursion to the top of
Morne, a mountain which rises immediately to the westward
of Castleton, but not half the height of Ben-na-Bourd, and
interesting principally on account of some rare cryptogamic
plants upon it. I ascended from Glen Clunie by a streamlet
that formed a small rocky ravine. in which some of the more
common alpine plants, such as Sawifraga stellaris and Epilo-
bium alpinum, were plentiful. Here also the Vaccinium
Vitis Idea was flowering beautifully, and Sali« aurita dis-
played its catkins. On marshy banks, the alpine form of
Hypnum denticulatum, called obtusifolium occurred, which
is very different in habit from the usual state of the plant.
Dicranum subulatum and Didymodon heteromallus grew

associated in great profusion on bare earthy banks; and
B

14

several curious parasitic Mungi were observed, particularly
Puccinia pulverulenta on Epilobium alpinum, and Uredo
Filicum on small delicate-looking fronds of Polypodium Dry-
opteris.

Before reaching the summit, the streamlet became lost, or
rather was rendered subterraneous, by the accumulation of
vegetation in its bed; and the only indications of its exist~
ence were little boggy hollows, with here and there small
openings, within the margins of which that exquisitely-beau-
tiful moss, the Hypnum Silesianum, had its dwelling-place.
Tn the hollows, among Sphagnum, Rubus Chamemorus was
still flowering, with, very sparingly, Cornus suecica and Vac-
cintum Oxycoccos,—the bright flowers of the latter looking
like gems set in the velvety moss.

The prospect from the summit is varied and grand,—the
eye commanding the whole range of the Braemar mountains
on both sides of the Dee, with the beautiful winding river,
the woods, the village and castle, and the farms and cottages
scattered about among the rich cultured fields and meadows
of the valley. The short time I spent upon the summit did
not suffice to examine all its botanical productions, and in-
deed one of them interested me so much as to claim a good
share of that. This was our old friend the Cetraria Islan-
dica (officinally called the Iceland Moss). It is stated in the
British Flora, that “ Professor Graham was perhaps the
first botanist in Britain who gathered its fructification. He
met with it in August 1821 (a single specimen), near the
top of a mountain called Morne, immediately to the
westward of Castleton in Braemar.” I was then, botani-
cally speaking, on classic ground: The Cetraria was plenti-
ful, and my researches were rewarded with ten or twelve
specimens bearing apothecia! Many of the Morne speci-
mens were assimilated in habit to C. nivalis, being some-
what erect and tufted, but with narrower and more crisped-
like fronds than those of Ben-na-Bourd. Cetraria nivalis

15

was also here in abundance; and I collected Cornicularia
bicolor, Lecanora tartarea 8., Spherophoron coralloides,
Dicranum scoparium B. fuscescens, Jungermannia Orca-
densis, Cetraria glauca (on the ground), and a plant or two
of Azalea procumbens, but out of flower.

Descending in a line with Castleton, a little below the
summit, I came upon abundance of Lycopodium annotinum ;
and nearly half-way down, about the bogey source of a rivu-
let, found what would have excited the warm enthusiasm of
of any lover of cryptogamic plants,—a beautiful luxuriance of
Splachnum vasculosum, richly covered with its elegant fruc-
tification! While gathering these, and walking home with
my choice cryptogamic stores, the question often arose in my
mind, why is it that so many zealous cultivators of our gen-
tle science—so many ardent admirers of the beauties of
Flora—almost totally neglect these her humbler charms? Do
the cryptogamic tribes not present as much beauty of struc-
ture as that of the higher orders of plants? Or is their
smallness of size the reason why they are so much over-
looked? “If stze were the touchstone of excellence and the
standard of appeal, then, as has been well observed, would
‘the horse be more excellent than his rider!’’”’ It is true
they are not so conspicuous as the flowering plants, nor is
half their beauty to be seen without microscopic aid; but
surely this can be no serious obstacle to the lover of the
beautiful, nor sufficient reason why he should deny himself
the benefit of that ample fund of instructive entertainment
which the benevolent Creator has prepared for him in these
his minuter works.

The tiny moss whose silky verdure clothes
The time-worn rock, and whose bright capsules rise,
Like fairy urns, on stalks of golden sheen,
Demand our admiration and our praise
As much as cedar kissing the blue sky,
Or Krubul's giant flower. God made them all,
And what He deigns to make should ne’er be deem’d
Unworthy of our study and our love.

B 2

16

CRAIG KOYNOCH AND THE LION’S FACE.

“ Auld frownin’ rocks on either hand
Uprear’d their heads to heaven,
Like temple-pillars which the foot
O’ Time had crush’d an’ riven.”

Craig Koynoch, or the Craig of Kenneth, is a hill rising
immediately from Castleton on the east side, and is said to be
so named, because in days of yore King Kenneth used to sit on
its summit and view his hounds in the chace. This appears
likely to be true, as the prospect of the vale beneath is ex-
tensive and beautiful. On the north-east side, overlooking
the Dee, wild rocks and precipices rise to the very top, and
the base of the hill is densely wooded all round. It is not of
great elevation above the Dee; but then the Dee itself is
here about 1100 feet higher than the sea-level. I had seve-
ral rambles, or rather scrambles, on this hill, and was amply
rewarded with abundance of good things. On the summit,
Carex capillaris grows plentifully, though rather stunted,
and most of its perigonia infected with a fungus, the Uredo
urceolorum. In some moist hollows, the Jungermannia in-
flata is found covering their bottoms with dark, spreading,
flaky patches. Lichens are in profusion on the exposed
rocks of the summit; and the following were collected :
Cornicularia tristis and lanata, both in fructification, Gyro-
phora polyphylla, and the other species before mentioned
found on Ben-na-Bourd, Lecanora tartarea, Lecidea sangui-
naria, Alectoria jubata C., Cetraria glauca, Borrera fur-
furacea ; Spherophoron coralloides, several forms; Scypho-
phorus cervicornis, with some others; and on the ground,
Lecanora tartarea 8., Cornicularia aculeata, and Cladonia
rangiferina. Some rocks near the summit, on the south
side, produced Andrea alpina, rupestris, and Rothw, with
Grimmia Doniana, and Trichostomum microcarpum.

17

But the wooded rocky terraces overlooking the Dee aftord-
ed the most interesting field. Here, in the clefts and cre-
vices of the moist shady rocks, luxuriated in all their beauty
those elegant Ferns the Polystichum Lonchitis, Asplenium
viride, and Cystopteris fragilis ; while the shelves were
loaded with bunches of the silvery Alchemilla alpina, the
golden-flowered Potentilla alpestris, the straggling Rubus
saxatilis, and the graceful Pyrola secunda, minor, and
media. Here also were Oxyria reniformis, Sawxifra-
ga aizoides (with mostly a single flower), Arabis hirsuta,
Vicia sepium, Avena aipina, Arrhenatherum avena-
ceum, and Luzula conjesta. From many a crevice and
shelf, Hieracia displayed their sunny flowers, particular-
ly Mieractum Lawsoni Sm., and the interesting and beau-
tiful A. murorum var. maculatum,—both affording am-
ple illustration of the sportiveness of their tribe. A few
of these variations may be mentioned. In the var. of
H. murorum, the leaves were generally more or less
spotted and clouded with purple; but in some specimens
the spots were almost wanting, while in others the whole
upper surface ‘was nearly purple, and the under one deeply
so. Some of them were rounded at the apex, some had
a short point, and others were accuminated; and frequent-
ly the toothing extended from the base to the apex, with
teeth pointing forward and retroflex on the same leaf. The
heads of flowers were generally from one to four, when more
than one, the stems being branched at the summit, and
forming a kind of corymb. But there were departures from
this; for some had stems branched from the root, and others
from above it, and in one plant stem and branches bore
twelve heads of flowers. The HM. Lawsoni was also very
variable, but generally had from one to six heads of flowers,
and in some specimens the leaves were partially spotted
and shaded with purple.

Some good cryptogamic plants also occurred among these
BS

18

rocks. Sticta scrobiculata and Nephroma resupinaic
spread themselves out in wide patches upon the rocky walls,
with dense cushioned tufts of Grimmia torta and Tortula
tortuosa; and in the shady crevices, Bartramia Halleriana,
Didymodon capillaceus, Hypnum pulchellum, and Solo-
aina saccata found homes. Cetraria sepincola grew very
sparingly on the trees, and the leaves of Crepis paludosa
were spotted with Aeidium compositarum.

- In the woods at the base of the cliffs were multitudes of
beautiful violets, spangling with their purple glory the rich
fresh verdure. They were Viola lutea var. amena, and
few of them had any intermixture of yellow. Such is not
generally the case, however ; for this species is as sportive in
its colours as some of the Hieracia are in their characters.
In the grassy glades of the deer-forest of Canlochen last year,
as well as on the Law-hill at Dundee, I collected the follow-
ing varieties.

1. With all the petals yellow.

2. all the petals yellow, the two upper ones purple
on the underside.

3. all the petals yellow, the two upper ones margined
with purple.

4, the two upper petals purple, and the others yel-
low, margined with purple.

5. —— the two upper petals purple, the lateral ones
with a shade of blue, and the lower yellow.

6 ——— the two upper petals purple, the lateral ones
blue and the lower yellow.

7. —— the two upper petals purple, the others blue.

8. all the petals purple, the lower one yellow on the
underside.

9: all the petals deep purple

The “Lion’s Face” is another similar rocky-fronted hill,
a little farther down Deeside, and has been so named from

19

its cliffs having a fancied resemblance to the face of that
noble animal. Indeed, viewed from Craig Koynoch, no
great stretch of imagination would be required to suppose the
whole hill a vast reposing petrified Lion,—a magnificent
restored trophy of antediluvian organic greatness! There
are walks laid out around it, which, winding among green
woods, are very pleasant ; and opposite to it, beyond the Dee,
on a noble lawn, and surrounded with fine old trees, stands
the princely mansion of Invercauld, the seat of the Far-
quharsons.

When the magic tints of a summer sunset light up these
fair white walls, the velvety lawns, the majestic trees, the
murmuring river, and all that wilderness of hill and mountain
that rise around them, the picture is almost one of enchant- -
ment; and to wander through these flowery woodlands, and
breathe their fresh airs, and listen to their fairy music, at that
soft hour, is one of the sweetest and most heart-loving felici-
ties that this world can afford to mortal pilgrim

The botanical productions of the Lion’s Face are similar
to those of Craig Koynoch; but a few additional ones were
gathered. On trees, occurred Variolaria faginen, Squamaria
afinis, Lecidea sanguinaria, and Pterogonium jfiliforme ;
and on an old stump that had collected a “ite e soil, Splach-
num mnioides. The rocks about the summit presented Par-

melia omphalodes, savatilis, and physodes, Peliide aphthosa,
and one that is supposed to be P. malacea of Fries, Tortula
tortuosa in ft., Scyphophorus filiformis var. macilentus,
and the various forms of Spherophoron coralloides growing
intermixed, bearing fructification, and maintaining their dis-
tinctive habits. The Juniper was plentiful, and Rosa spi-
nossissima adorned the Lion’s brow with a fragrant wreath.

20

GLEN CALLATER.

“ Near, was the wildness of the mountain scene,
With cliffs, and crags, and precipices crown’d,
And bubbling rills and white cascades between.”

Glen Callater opens into Glen Clunie about two miles from
Castleton, and winds away up among the mountains for five
or six miles, having in its bosom a lovely lake upwards of a
mile long, but losing half its charms for want of wood. At
the head of the Glen there is a corry with a small lake, and
vast ranges of precipitous rocks ; down which, in one place,
dashes a considerable mountain stream, forming the “‘ Break-
neck Waterfall.’’ These rocks are perhaps the finest in
Braemar for the variety and abundance of their botanical
treasures. I visited them on the 8th, 15th, and 19th of
July, and each time obtained plenty of good plants, as well
as good drenchings.

The walk from Castleton to the farm of Ahallater, at the
entrance of Glen Callater, is very pleasant ; for Glen Clunie,
which the road skirts all the way, is agreeably diversified
with wood and water, field and meadow, grazing cattle, and
all the sights and sounds of rural industry. Once beyond
this he however, there are only the clear-winding Callater,
the brown heath, and the rocky mountains, with no signs of
man’s agency except the road, and occasionally at this season
a cart or two upon it, with some merry hind driving from the
far-distant mountain peat-bog the winter fuel of the denizens
of the valleys. Yet, lonely and uncultivated though it is,
there is a quiet pastoral charm about Glen Callater, and
neither angler nor botanist has any good reason to quarrel
with its seclusion.

Being desirous of reaching the head of the co: y speedily,

21

and unacquainted with the nature of the ground, my guide
(or rather magnum vasculum carrier) proposed leaving the
Glen before reaching the lake, and ascending the mountains
in a slanting direction towards the desired point. This,
however, I found to be a bad arrangement ; as, by the inces-
sant climbing, one gets flagged before reaching the principal
scene of action. The better way is, to walk up the Glen to
its head, and descend the mountains in returning. Enough
of climbing awaits one at the rocks. Near the tops of the
mountains, I picked Hieracium alpinum varying from one to
six inches high, Oporinia autumnalis 8. Taraxaci, Gnapha-
lum supinum, and Alchemilla vulgaris 8. minor, which is
merely a stunted form of the plant.

We descended into the corry towards the little Loch
Kalder, or Loch Ceanndin, by a steep water-course, collecting
Alopecurus alpinus and Phleum alpinum, which grew close
to the stream on wet rocks. Here also were Salia hirta,
myrsinites, and arenaria,—the latter rendered beautifully
conspicuous by its white silky foliage. These alpine stream-
lets, from their steep and rapid descent, form in their course an
innumerable host of minature waterfalls and cascades, which
afford to the curious eye an agreeable succession of pleasing
images; and there can often be detected minute, though ac-
curate resemblances, of some of the most celebrated cataracts.
To add to their beauty, and give them additional attraction to
the lover of Flora, they are decorated with sweet alpine blos-
soms, and an exuberance of verdure and clustering mosses.
Here we found the delicate Thalictrum alpinum, Veronica
alpina, V. serpyllifolia 8. alpina, Saxifraga hypnoides with
its showy corollas mirrored fantastically in the rapid stream,
and S. oppositifolia straggling over the rocks, with its com-
paratively large crimson flowers nestling among the beautiful
ciliated leaves. And here too was the Cochlearia grenlan-
dica, awakening associations of daring arctic enterprize, and
arctic scenery, snowy mountains, and frozen plains, with ice-

22

bergs, and Polar bears, and dancing auroras, and Esquimaux,
and all the other et ceteras of these wintry regions, till one
is called back to present realities by the cold which here
chills the blood,—especially if northern breezes come hurry-
ing up the Glen, and accompanied, as they were on this oc-
casion, with smart showers. ‘Summer and winter seemed
blended together ; for, while innumerable flowers were bloom-
ing around us, our bodies were cooled down almost to the
lowest temperature. On marshy banks, the Hquisetum pal-
ustre 3. alpinum was more profuse of catkins than of leaves ;
the Juncus triglumis and Tofieldia palustris were plentiful ;
and upon rocky ground, Sibbaldia procumbens, the com-
memorator of the good old Sibbald, showed its humble
flowers.

Skirting for a short distance the small loch, which was
sleeping serenely in the bosom of its native corry, save now
and then when it was ruffled by the breeze, or dimpled by the
showers, we ascended the rocks, and botanized their lower
ranges. Here

“Boon Nature scatter’d free and wild,

Each plant or flower the mountain’s child.”
Salix reticulata spread out its tortuous branches over the faces
of the rocky shelves, and bore profusion of catkins, both fertile
and sterile. Salix petrea and S. herbacea were less plentiful.
Saussurea alpina and Pyrola secunda were scarcely yet in
flower; but the scented Rose-root, Sedum Rhodiola, displayed
its cymes of yellow blossoms, and the Silene acaulis had its
humble spreading verdant masses lavishly embellished with
fine rosy-crimson flowers. Bunches of Juncus trifidus
sprung out of the clefts; Trollius europeus whispered of
lowland woods and their summer glories; and various Ca-
rices attracted attention, particularly Carex atrata, rigida
and vaginata of Tausch, the C. pheostachya of Smith.
Gnaphalium dioicum was tall and graceful, Luzula spicata
waved from many a jutting cliff its drooping spikes, and Ly-

23

copodium selaginoides appeared as the representative of its
tribe among the floral assemblage of the corry-rocks.

Mosses here flourish in great luxuriance, and many fine
specimens were obtained. Those of Hypnum rufescens were
splendid, though without fructification, as was also Bryum
Ler. Andrea alpina, Hedwigia estiva, Trichostomum
patens, and Encalypta ciliata bore capsules freely; and in
one place, on bare earthy ground, about an old water-course,
Polytrichum hercynicum was in full perfection. Grimnia
spiralis and several others were added, and we left the corry

“ When evening tinged the lake's etherial blue.”
There is a gamekeeper’s cottage at the foot of the lake,
where we refreshed; and, retracing our steps down the Glen,
which is dull and dreary enough after nightfall, reached Cas-
tleton when its inhabitants were enjoying their midnight
slumbers.

‘In my second visit, I went up the Glen all the way, tak-
ing the left-hand side of the lake, ascended by the Break-
neck Fall to the higher ledges of rocks, came round the
“rigoin’”’ or crest of the mountains, and finally down their
sides to the foot of the lake; which was found to be far less
fatiguing than my previous trip, although more ground was
gone over and less time consumed, as the village was reached
at a reasonable hour in the evening.

In addition to the plants formerly noticed, I found Po-
tentilla alpestris, Habenaria viridis, Poa cesia, Festuca
ovina «. vivipara, Salix lanata and Croweana, Hieracium
Lawsoni and Schmidti, and many good cryptogamics. The
Splachnum tenue occurred, though very sparingly, on moist
ground, by the side of the Callater, above the lake; and
among the rocks, Bryum elongatum and Wahlenbergit,
Didymodon flexicaulis, Dicranum fulvellum, heteromal-
lum, and scoparium 8. fuscescens, Bartramia ithyphylla,
Weissia crispulu, and curvirostra, Polytrichum alpinum,
Zygodon Mougeotii, with Hypnum pulchellum growing

24

amongst it, Jungermannia setiformis, albicans, ciliaris, and
emarginata; and in the crevices of the rocks, about the sum-
mit, Edipodium Grifithianum, but barren.

When at the summit, I made a short detour to the stream
that forms the Breakneck Fall, and several adjacent bogey
sources of springs, and collected the alpine form of Fontin-
alis antipyretica, Bryum Ludwigu, Hypnum stramineum,
a remarkable state of H. palustre, Jungermannia julacea,
undulata, and a var. of nemorosa.

In descending, various lichens were picked from the rocks,
and on the heaths were Cladonia uncialis 8. turgida. Scy-
phophorus gracilis, and others. Cetraria Islandica was
very common; some of which bore young apothecia, while
others were studded with black, circular, wart-like processes
bursting from the frond, and which have been thought ana-
lagous to those excrescences found on Stereocaulons, and
considered by Fries abortive apothecia. They may, how-
ever, be some gemmiferous mode of reproduction hitherto
unobserved, and deserve more attention. In the afternoon,
the rain came down in torrents, the stream was speedily
swollen, the road got muddy, and everything was drenched
and dripping.

In my third ramble to this Glen, I was accompanied by
Mr Edmondston of Shetland; and, taking the middle ledges
of rocks from the Breakneck Fall westwards, we had the
gratification of meeting with plenty of the rare Carex ru-
pestris, and several cryptogamics not before noticed here,—
as Bartramia gracilis, Halleriana, and pomiformis 8. ma-
jor very fine, Weissia acuta, Hypnum denticulatum B., and
Dicranum subulatum. Indeed, instead of two or three de-
sultory visits of a few hours, to do the head of this Glen
justice, one would require to pitch camp here for a fortnight.
Between the corry and the head of Loch Callater were ga-
thered fine specimens of Stereocaulon corallinum FRIEs,
Squamaria hypnorum, and Lecanora pezizoides E. Bot,

25

Surpt., the Lecidea coronata of the Brit. Frora. By the
side of the lake, Pyrola media and Galium boreale oc-
eurred, and on rocks at its foot a form of Péerogonium gra-
cile, with something of the habit of P. filiforme. The
Callater was margined in many places with Oxyria renifor-
mis, with here and there a plant of Hieracium Lawsoni.
The stones afforded us, besides abundance of Gyrophere,
Parmelia, and Cornicularie, Grimmia ovata, Lecanora veh-~
tosa, Isidium corallinum, Lecidea confiuens, and a Lecidea
which does not appear to be described. On the old bridge
across the Callater, at the foot of the Glen, we found Einca-
lypta streptocarpa without capsules, and Grimmia apocarpa,
var. alpicola.

The day was showery and cold; but otir hearts were
warm with the love of Nature—they felt in unison the po-
tency of her charms, and, in their delightful enjoyment, phy-
sical discomfort was almost overlooked.

CAIRN-A-DROCHEL.

The hill which bears this name is opposite to Castleton,
on the north side of the Dee, bounded on the east by Glen
Candlic, and on the west by Glen Quoich, and may be con-
sidered one of the outworks as it were of Ben-na-Bourd. Its
front is rocky and wooded, but, from a southern exposure,
apparently not so well furnished with plants interesting to
the botanist as he could wish. My afternoon ramble on this
hill was pleasant -enough, though not productive of many
novelties. The weods were deliciously fresh, and the birds
awoke their echoes with their soft warblings. The sky was
sunny and warm, the rustics were busy below in the hay-

fields, and now and then their merry laugh would come
Cc

26

ringing through the green shades and the sweet perfume of
the hay, wafted on the wings of the gentle breeze.

I picked Pyrola media at the foot of the hill and near
the lower summit; and in marshy places, below the highest
summit, plenty of Tojieldia palustris, mostly in ft. About
the summits, and on the western declivity, various mosses
and lichens were gathered; among which may be mentioned
Andrea rupestris, Dicranum flexuosum 8. nigro-viride,
Trichostomum canescens 8. ericoides, Cetraria nivalis,
Corniculariabicoloy, and Sterecocaulon denudatum FLORKE.

Descending towards evening by a stream on the west side
of the woods, Salix nitens was found bearing plenty of cat-
kins, the incised-leaved var. of Carduus heterophyllus, Ly-
copodium selaginoides, Equisetum sylvaticum, and, what
was here to be considered a rarity, a bush of broom, wavy-
ing its golden tresses o’er the stream. Although the furze
and broom are common plants in most parts of Scotland,
spreading their glowing mantles over our moorlands and hills,
in Braemar they are almost the rarest to be met with. Wild
roses were more common, scattering their balmy essences on
the evening air ; our own “ Scottish blue-bells” chimed their
fairy numbers among the blooming heather; and the little
modest daisy gracefully folded up its snowy crimson-tipt
petals, to shelter its bosom from the falling dews.

“ Beautiful children of the glen and dell,
The dingle deep, the muirland stretching wide,
And of the mossy fountain’s sedgy side !
Ye o’er my heart have thrown a lovesome spell ;
And, though the worldling scorning may deride,
T love ye all!”

BEN BECK.

Upon Ben Beck, which bounds Castleton on the. south-
east, I spent an hour or two very agreeably, and do not
doubt but that it requires better investigation. Among
birch-trees, near the foot, Pyrola secunda and minor were
flowering delightfully, and the former was also met with
near the top, among heath, and mostly in fruit. The Are-
tostaphylos Uva-ursi clothed the ground in many places with
its trailing verdant branches and clustering berries; and by
the sides of rills, masses of Sawifraga aizoides cheered the
eye with their golden flowerage. The fragrant birches had
their trunks embroidered with Orthotrichum Drummondii.
In moist places, Bartramia fontana and Bryum ventrico-
sum flourished ; banks among the heath produced Diphys-
cium foliosum, Jungermannia minuta, and the small alpine
form of J. ciliaris ; while, on the rocks and stones, besides
a great number of lichens and mosses already mentioned as
found in other places, were Jungermannia trilobata B. minor,
and very fine Trichostomum heterostichum.

CANLOCHEN.

“ A fairy valley far among the Hills,
Which seem’d to hold it in their rough embrace—
Stern Giants of the old and rugged times,
Straining pure Beauty to their rocky breasts.
The rugged mountain-peaks looked down in joy
Upon its placidness, like savages
Watching the sleep of some lone innocent.
Sweet things were in its bosom,
Pure as the thoughts that hallow Childhood’s heart.”

My excursion, on the 22d of July, over the mountains to

the famed Glen of Canlochen, will not be soon effaced from
(eB

28

memory ; for its pleasures were heightened by the agreeable
society of Messrs H. C. Watson and T. Kdmondston. Through
the kindness of Mr Watson, we had the luxury of a drive
up to the head of Glen Clunie, and then began our ascent of
the mountains through a dense mist, and traced, by the ex-
perienced guidance of Mr W.,

“ The tangled mountain-track of many a mile.”

Before reaching the head of Canlochen, we gathered from
the heaths Cladonia vermicularis, and a Stereocaulon,
which turns out to be the same as one found on the Sands of
Barrie, and new to Britain, the S. tomentosum FR1Es.

Glen Isla opens into Strathmore near Alyth, and, about
twenty miles up among the Grampians, terminates in two
narrow branches,—that on the east side being called Glen
Caness, and that on the west Glen Canlochen. Both are
partially wooded, and constitute a noble deer-forest. Can-
lochen has steep ranges of precipices on each side, with
many mountain-streams dashing down from the extensive
table-lands above; and the banks of these, as well as the
clefts and shelves of the rocks, have treasured beauties and
rarities that the lover of Flora can duly appreciate, and that
amply reward him for the most hazardous explorations.

Our entrance was by a fresh-gushing stream, that

“ Leapt down from rock to rock
Into that vale; and having sunn’d itself
Amid its beauty—as a tear might sleep
In joy a while upon a maiden’s cheek—
It wander’d on its way.”

We here found abundance of those rare grasses, Alopecurus
alpinus and Phleum alpinum, and a solitary specimen of the
still rarer Sonchus alpinus, the root of which was carefully
left. As we descended, the sun would now and then raise
the fleecy curtain of mist that shrouded the Glen, and show
us for an instant all its glories, as if to lure us on, and then
as suddenly it was again veiled in obseurity. These “ lucid
intervals,” however, became more frequent ; and by the time

29

we got among the rocky ledges, the mist had taken to the
mountain summits, and in the afternoon finally disappeared,
leaving us in the full possession of the bright and genial
sunshine.

The rich assemblage of rare and interesting plants upon
these rocks afforded us a delicious treat. Here the Dryas
octopetala spread out its large showy, but fragile corollas,
and the Veronica sawatilis was loaded with its little heaven-
eyed blossoms. rigeron alpinus displayed its gold and
purple stars, Cerastium alpinum graced the rocks with its
silky foliage and handsome white flowers, and bright red
masses of Lychnis diurna and Silene acaulis contrasted beau-
tifully with the surrounding luxuriance of the verdure. Py-
rola rotundifolia, secunda and minor, were all in bloom, as
were also Potentilla alpestris, Saxifraga nivalis, Draba in-
cana, Arabis hirsuta, and Habenaria viridis. The flower-
buds of Saussurea alpina were scarcely yet expanded; but
many Hieracia disported themselves in the warm sunlight, —
among which were Hieracium Lawsoni, Schmidtu, diapha-
num, and perhaps others. Grasses and Carices were flou-
rishing in great beauty, and we picked Poa alpina and cesia,
Aira alpina, Carex atrata, rigida, capillaris, and vaginata.
Salia myrsinites, herbacea, and reticulata, were spreading
over the shelves, and Veronica officinalis was passing into
the Allionii of the Brit. Flora, or 8. glabra of Babington’s
Manual.

On a moist, steep, rocky bank, the little rare Gentiana
nivalis was found. Mr Watson was the first to detect it;
but so sparingly did it occur, that only a specimen or two
fell to the share of each of us. Veronica serpyllifolia 8. was
plentiful by the side of every rill, with Sazifraga hypnoides
and stellaris ; and Veronica alpina and Epilobium alsinifo-
lium were not unfrequent.

Botrychium Lunaria also occurred on the rocks, and va-
rious other good cryptogamics were obtained, particularly

30

Hypnum rugulosum and Pterogonium filiforme, the latter in
broad spreading patches on the face of a perpendicular rock
not very easily accessible. The idea strikes one here even
more forcibly than in Glen Callater, that a few hours can do
but little to the thorough exploration of such a place.

On leaving the Glen, Mr Watson conducted us to an ex-
tensive bog on the table-land above, where we enjoyed a
dessert worthy of the day’s feast. Here grew in profusion
Carex rariflora, aquatilis, curta, and ceespitosa, with many
interesting mosses,—such as Splachnum vasculosumand sphe-
ricum, Bryum Ludwig, Hypnum cordifolium 8. purpu-
reum, Fissidens adiantoides, and curious alpine ‘states, of
Hypnum filicinum, aduncum, and palustre, and Junger-
mannia nemorosa. By its side, on moist rocks, was plenty
of Dicranum falcatum; and in our walk across the hills to
Glen Clunie, we met with several tufts of Splachnum mni-
oides, as well as other acceptable additions to our cornucopian
budget.

In Glen Clunie, we gathered Rosa Sabini and tomento-
sa, Hieracium prenanthoides, and Myosotis repens, which
was pointed out tous by Mr Watson about the margins of
a small wayside rill. The evening was a mild and plea-
sant one, the air soft and balmy, and the mountain sum-
mits, tinged by the glorious hues of sunset, stood out in bold
relief against the clear blue sky. They looked like so many
mighty altars gorgeously lighted up for some great festival ;
and truly, before such altars, after a happy day spent with
Nature and agreeable society, what soul could resist offering up
its silent gratitude to that great Spirit whose essence is love,
and whose abode is eternity ?

31

GLEN QUOICH.

“Tn gentle sighs, the softly-whispering breeze
Salutes the flowers, and waves the trembling trees.”

On the 24th of July, I had an afternoon walk to the en-
trance of Glen Quoich, to see the Linn; and as linns are
generally a favourite resort of Flora, I had high expectations,
which were not realized. The road to it was along the north
side of the Dee, skirting the foot of Cairn-a-Drochel, and
partly through embowering woods full of common flowers,
that after a fresh shower gave to the passing winds a sweet
and grateful fragrance. I picked by the way Gnaphalium
sylvaticum, Gentiana campestris, Molinia cerulea, Agrostis
vulgaris y. pumila, and Rosa Sabini 8. Doniana. The only
things found about the Linn were Salix phillyreifolia, and
an unknown species, with Hypnum uncinatum, Tetraphis
pellucida, Bryum ventricosum, and crudum.

I crossed the broad “ haugh” below the farm of Allen-O-
Quoich, the residence of the Earl of Fife’s factor, and, from
ground that was entirely under water at the time of the great
floods of 1829, culled the red-flowered variety of Achillea
Millefolium, Crepis paludosa, Hieracitum Lawsoni, and
Galium palustre 6. Withering.

On the opposite side of the Dee, which was gained by
means of a boat, Epelobium angustifoliwm reared its elegant
spikes of crimson flowers from the mossy rocks, and the bee
murmured from bell to bell of the stately foxglove. On the
trees here were Lecanora pezizoides and Squamaria afinis ;
and the bright blossoms of Rosa tomentosa were mingling
their incense with the odours of the “ sweet-scented birks.”’

o2

FALLS OF THE GARRAWALT, AND FOREST
OF BALLOCHBOWIE.

=

“ Now gentle gales,
Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole
Those balmy spoils.”

: The Garrawalt is a stream coming down from the Loch-
nagar group of mountains, and falling into the Dee a mile
or two below the Bridge of Invercauld, and about five or six
from Castleton. The waterfalls upon it are small, but very
picturesque, and derive much of their interest from the gran-
deur of the noble forest-scenery around. They are also easily
accessible by beautiful walks winding through the forest, and
may be viewed from a tastefully-ornamented rustic bridge
thrown across the stream above them, or from a rustic seat
on the banks below, where once, it seems, there was a “ fog-
house ’’ for the accommodation of visitors.

The morning walk along Deeside from Castleton to the
Ballochbowie Forest was delightful. Hay-fields, thickets of
wild-roses, with banks of Galium verum, and “bonny wild-
thyme,” were breathing their honied balm. Round the
old Castle of Braemar, sheep and lambs were browsing among
the myriads of buttercups and daisies that gemmed the mea-
dows: Larks were carolling aloft in the blue expanse of hea-
ven, and many a soft-toned voice of gladness arose from the
fresh woods, whose green foliage was glistening in the rosy
beams: The low silvery ripplings of the Dee stole softly
on the ear, with the hum of passing insects, and the whis-
perings of the yet drowsy breeze among the flickering leaves
of the aspen: Invercauld, with its woods and lawns, calmly
reflected the lovely light of morning; the majestic rocks of
Craig Koynoch, the Lion’s Face, and Craig Clunie, looked
down over the woodlands with bland smiles from their airy
heights; and, looking back, were seen glowing on the distant

33

sky the lofty and rugged summits of Ben-na-Bourd and Ben
Avon.

At the foot of Craig Clunie, the next rocky-fronted hill
down Deeside from the Lion’s Face, where vast rocky frag-
ments were scattered about among the trees, that had pro-
bably from time to time fallen from the stupendous cliffs
above, and were now mantled with verdure, I spent a few
minutes very agreeably. The Vaccinium Myrtillus was
loaded with ripe, juicy, cooling berries, and many a tall spike
of Digitalis purpurea caught at intervals, through the green
waving branches, wandering sunbeams, to heighten their pur-
ple glory. Upon the rocks, I gathered various interesting
cryptogamic plants. The Peltidea aphthosa was plentiful,
and bearing apothecia. I had seen this lichen perhaps a
hundred times before; but this was only the second time I
had met with its fructification. It is a beautiful species,
when fresh of a fine yellow green colour, but changing its
hue in drying to a glaucous grey. The Tetraphis pellucida
was here in fruit, with Weissia striata, Didymodon Brun-
toni, Andrea alpina, Hypnum splendens and loreum, and
Dicranum scoparium 8. fuscescens. I also collected Bry-
um androgynum bearing numerous little heads of gemme,
Alectoria jubata @., Parmelia lanuginosa, and a plant which
is probably Stagonema atro-virens.

Beyond this, a picturesque porter’s lodge was passed, with
a little artificial lake and cascade, artificially bordered with
laurels and cypresses; and farther on, I came to what is
called the “ Muckle Stane o’ the Clunie,”’—a vast boulder by
the wayside, overshadowed by two fine mountain-ashes. On
this huge stone, it was curious to find nearly thirty species of
plants growing, principally cryptogamic, and belonging to
the genera Anictangium, Dicranum, Trichostomum, Bry-
um, Hypnum, Jungermannia, Parmelia, Gyrophora, Alec-
toria, Isidium, Stereocaulon, and Spherophoron. Still far-
ther down the valley, I crossed an old bridge, which yielded

34

Encalypta streptocarpa and Didymodon capillaceus @., and
about mid-day enjoyed beautiful views of Lochnagar and the
valley of the Dee from the Bridge of Invercauld.

A path here breaks off through the forest to the Falls;
and in a short time, I found myself amid forest scenery that
IT had only before dreamed of. Seated on a bank of Calluna
vulgaris and Vaccinium Vitis-I[dea, I gazed in rapture at
the thousands of lofty pines that rose around me, with their
unencumbered stems shooting up straight as arrows to the
height of 60, 80, or 90 feet, crowned with dark embowering
branches, through which the now-awakened breeze roared
like the waves of the troubled ocean, and the sun at times
darted his searching beams, to light up the pure drooping
blossoms of Pyrola media and other wood-loving flowers
that enamelled the rich flooring of these magnificent forest
sanctuaries.

I had wandered through many a wood ere now, and pried
into many a sylvan nook, and I had seen isolated trees of
gigantic growth not a few; but never before had my eyes
beheld such a noble assemblage of mighty trees, nor my ear
listened to such sublime strains of forest music! It was
a scene well calculated to awaken the soul’s deepest admira-
tion, and raise its holiest thoughts to Him who had planted
and reared such a glorious living temple.

Some lines of a beautiful effusion by my highly-gifted and
much-lamented countryman, Robert Nicoll, here recurred
forcibly to my memory ; and indeed the whole poem breathes
such a noble spirit, and so powerfully depicts the thoughts
and feelings that fill the soul to overflowing in a scene like
this, that few of my readers who have not seen it will find
fault with me for transcribing it in full. Its every expression
comes home to the heart of the genuine lover of Nature!

35
FOREST MUSINGS.

“ Tne green leaves waving in the morning gale—
The little birds that mid their freshness sing—
The wild-wood flowers so tender-eyed and pale—
The wood-mouse sitting by the forest spring—
The morning dew—the wild bee’s woodland hum—
All woo my feet to Nature’s forest home.

*Tis beautiful, from some tall craggy peak,
To watch the setting of the blessed sun—

To mark his light grow weaker, and more weak,
Till earth and sky be hid in twilight dun :

?Tis beautiful to watch the earliest ray,

That sparkling comes across the ocean grey.

But, O! more beautiful, more passing sweet,

It is to wander in an hour like this—
Where twisted branches overhead do meet,

And gentle airs the bursting buds do kiss—
Where forest-paths and glades, and thickets green,
Make up, of flowers and leaves, a world serene.

To the pure heart, ’*tis happiness to mark
The tree-tops waying in the warm sunshine—
To hear thy song, thou cloud-embosom’d lark,
Like that of some fair spirit all divine—
To lie upon the forest’s velvet grass,
And watch the fearful deer in distance pass.

O! gloriously beautiful is earth,—
The desert wild—the mountain old and hoar—
The craggy steep, upthrown at Nature’s birth—
The sweeping ocean wave—the pebbled shore—
Have much of beauty all; but none to me
Is like the spot where stands the forest-tree.

There I can muse, away from living men,
Reclining peacefully on Nature’s breast,—
The woodbird sending up its Gop-ward strain,

Nursing the spirit into holy rest!
Alone with God within nuts forest fane,
The soul can feel that all save Ht is vain.

Here it can learn—vwili learn—to love all things
That HE hath made—to pity and forgive

All faults, all failings: Here the heart's deep springs
Ave open’d up, and all on earth who live

To me grow nearer, dearer than before —

My brother loying I my God adore.

36

A deep mysterious sympathy doth bind

The human heart to Nature’s beauties all;
We know not, guess not, of its force or kind;

But that it is we know. When ill doth fall
Upon us—when our hearts are sear’d and rivens—
We'll seek the forest land for peace and Heaven.’

My botanical collections here were but scanty, perhaps
from not having time to search sufficiently; but my chief
object was to obtain specimens of the truly indigenous Pinus
sylvestris. At first, when I looked aloft at the shaggy heads
of the arboreal giants, I despaired of my purpose; for it
seemed, without the agility of a squirrel, next to impossible
to accomplish my design. However, a favourable oppor-
tunity at last occurred near the Falls, where the lower
branches of a stately tree were so near the ridge of one of
the highest banks, that they could be reached, and a supply
of specimens procured. A few good lichens were the only
other acquisitions, and among them Peltidea scutata, Lecan-
ora pezizoides, Squamaria hypnorum, Scyphophorus cervi-
cornis and filiformis var. macilentus.

About the Garrawalt, the Digitalis purpurea was exceed-
ingly fine, and one specimen, with a majestic spike of bells,
was six feet high!

The afternoon was cloudy, with showers, but they were
moderate, and only served to freshen the verdure, and fill the
air with a richer perfume ; and as I retraced my steps toward
evening along the banks of the beautiful Dee, the sweet and
healthful odours of the birch and the pine were floating
around me, while, from their green branches, the glossy
blackbird poured his mellow vesper-song.

Fee ee a a er ee

37

BEN AVON.

“Night and gloom were gone,
And the broad sun his glory did unveil.”

And the glory of the Highland landscape was unveiled too
by his lucid beams, which is not always the case in these al-
pine districts, for clouds and storms are there more at home
than the flower-hunter could often wish; but, when a bright
morning does arise, it is one of surpassing beauty and loveli-
ness. Everything in Nature seems to rejoice: The bee hums
sprightlier among the laughing flowers, the birds trill their
sweet notes with more fervour, and the very leaves on the
trees appear as if dancing for gladness.

The mountains this morning looked sunny and inviting, and
with my guide I was early a-foot, and, after crossing the Dee
and the stream of Glen Candlic, was soon brushing the dew
from the heather of the Glassault,

“ Free as the red deer on the hill.”

Ben Avon rises to the north east of Ben-na-Bourd, and its
distance from Castleton is greater. It is said to be a few
feet lower than the latter, but certainly looks the higher of
the two. After along walk over the trackless heaths, the
top of Little Craigindal was gained, where Astragalus al-
pinus was tolerably abundant, both in flower and fruit, though
mostly in the former state. In some places, it formed a turf
mixed with Carex rupestris, Gentiana campestris, Thalic-
trum alpinum, Armeria maritima 8. alpina and Silene acau-
lis. Little, as applied to this hill, is only a comparative term ;
for, though a great mountain mass, it is inferior in size to
“ Muckle Craigindal,’’ a vast shoulder or abutment of Ben
Avon, which is separated from this hill by a deep narrow

glen.
D

38

While lunching on banks of the lovely alpine Astragalus,
a noble herd of deer were seen in the glen below, leisurely
crossing the stream and ascending the opposite steeps. The
sight was an interesting one, and well worth a long day’s jour-
ney to see.

Descending and crossing the glen, we commenced our ascent
of Ben Avon by asteep water-course, where the stream form-
ed a series of little waterfalls all the way. The rocks about
these are beautifully adorned with flowers, and I collected
many good things, particularly Hieraciwm diaphanum, alpi-
num, Schmidin, Lawsoni, &c., Cochlearia grenlandica, Epi-
lobium alsinifolium, Botrychiwm Lunaria, and, upon the
sloping face of a moist rock! Cornus suecica in very fine con-
dition.

On the banks of the stream, near its head, Polytrichum
septentrionale was plentiful, but barren, ag well as Bryum
Ludwigit and Jungermannia julacea. Bartramia tthy-
phylla, Splachnum mnioides, Dicranum falcatum, and Bry-
um uliginosum occurred ; Polytrichum alpinum was in pro-
fusion, though with unripe fruit; and on rocks were many
tufts of Grimmia spiralis and Doniana.

The summit of this mountain is nearly akin to that of
Ben-na-Bourd in its character of bleak sterility ; and, though
the day was clear and sunny, the air here was very cold. The
prospect, however, was vast and magnificent ; and the eye
wandered from mountain to mountain, and from glen to glen,
with all their rocks, and streams, and forests steeped in sun-
light, till it became fairly bewildered with their endless va-
riety, and wearied with delight.

Tufts of Luzula spicata were scattered about, some of
them not exceeding an inch and a half in height, and speci-
mens of Saxifraga stellaris in flower were culled not taller
than a quarter of an inch. In one place, on rocky ground,
where there was moisture, I found abundance of Aira alpina
wholly viviparous, with alpine states of A. cespitosa, and

39

flecuosa, and Anthowanthum odoratum. These were the
principal flowering-plants found.

There are on the summit huge isolated masses of granite,
which give it a peculiar aspect, and look like portions of the
hard mountain skeleton left jutting out after the softer co-
vering has been worn away; and even these seemed to be
gradually crumbling down. I scaled them with difficulty,
and found on their tops Parmelia Fahlunensis, Cornicula-
ria lanata, Cetraria Islandica, and Jungermannia ciliaris.

On this mountain, as on Ben-na-Bourd, Cetraria Islan-
dica and nivalis were very plentiful, and I found a specimen
or two of the former in fructification. Its rocks also had
their covering of various species of Gyrophora, Parmelia,
Cornicularia, Spherophoron, Stereocaulon, &c.; and its
boggy heaths displayed their numerous blackened and frag-
mentary remains of the trees that in bygone ages had clothed
these extensive mountain-sides with a mighty forest. Here
was food for meditation, and solitude enough to nurse it; for
no sound broke the stillness, save that of our own voices, and
now and then the whirr of a startled muirfowl, or the sudden
flight of the snowy ptarmigan.

We descended by the larger Craigindal, and through Glen

Candlic, when
“ Twilight grey
Had in her sober livery all things clad.”

The way seemed long in the morning; but we felt it much
longer now; and by the time we arrived at Castleton way-

worn and weary,

* The moon had climb’d the highest hill
Which rises o’er the source of Dee,
And, from the eastern summit, shed
Its silver light on tower and tree.”

D2

CONCLUSION.

I made a second excursion to Canlochen before leaving
Braemar; and, by devoting’ two days to it, the 29th and
30th of July, had hoped to be able to examine other por-
tions of the Glen, as well as procure more specimens of
Gentiana nivalis ; but, as Burns says,

“ The best-laid schemes 0”? mice and men
Gang aft a-gley ;”

and so it fared with mine. The 29th turned out cold and
stormy, with a strong northerly wind. I went up Glen Cal-
later, and ascended by Cairn Turk; on the side of which, at
a spring called Fouran Vonie, or the Hill Well, another
station was found for Splachnum vasculosum, where it was
fruiting freely. I crossed the mountains, and entered Can-
lochen Glen by the eastmost stream at its head, where
a profusion of Alopecurus alpinus and Phleum alpinum
were gathered. About half-way down the centre stream, to
which I crossed, another station for Sonchus alpinus was
met with, but only a solitary specimen, which was beauti-
fully in flower, and, as before, the root was left uninjured.
During that day, numerous specimens of about 30 other
species, mostly noticed before, were collected; and it was
reserved for the second day to have some terrible scrambling
among the wildest rocks. I slept in the shieling down the
glen at the entrance to Caness. But, when next morning
eame, what with the cold and fatigue of the previous day,
and the hardness of our beds, equal to slaps of granite, both
myself and guide felt so stiff and sore that we could scarcely
walk. Headache and toothache lent their tortures; and, to
complete my mortification and disappointment, scarcely had
we left the shieling when rain began to fall, which continued
till afternoon pouring in torrents, with a strong cold breeze ;

4}

so that it would have been madness to have ventured among
the rocks which were intended to haye been examined, under
such circumstances. We ascended from the glen by the cen-
tre stream, where were abundance of Phleum alpinum,
Epilobium alsinifolium, Sibbaldia procumbens, Gnaphalium
supinum, &c, The ascent was steep, and difficult from the
wet, and full of swollen waterfalls; and when we did reach
the mountain “riggin,” our long and dubious walk to Glen
Clunie was through cold dense mist and drenching rain.

It may here be mentioned, that about the banks of the
Clunie, near Castleton, the Hieracium prenanthoides, inu-
loides, and Lawsoni occur rather plentifully, with Meum atha-
manticum, Carduus heterophyllus, Rumex aquaticus, and
Polygonum viviparum. The latter is also common in the
woods and on the heaths, and is called by the natives Rose-n-
Darrichan, who say that bread has been known to have been
made of the viviparous bulbs.

In my journey across the mountains to Dundee, the only
plants picked worthy of notice were, fine Gyrophora pellita
and Parmelia oiivacea plentiful on old walls in Glen Shee,
and Galeopsis versicolor in corn-fields at the Bridge of
Cally.

My readers may naturally have expected that I should
have conducted them to the chief mountain in Braemar, Ben-
Muick-Dhui, and I had hoped to have done so: But its dis-
tance from Castleton is upwards of twenty-five miles ; and
when there, the only accommodation is a cavity or hollow,
covered by a huge fallen rock called the “ shelter-stone ;””
so that, without other arrangements than I had made, little
could have been done in botanizing this mountain and its
neighbours, Cairntoul, Ben-a-Votrin, Ben-na-Main, and
Cairngorum. I was also a good deal fatigued with the exer-

D3

42

tions which had been made; and besides, the weather was
too broken for travelling among mountains such as these.
It is still, however, my eager desire to explore this mighty
mountain-range, the highest in Scotland; and, should this
season (1845) prove more favourable, and other circumstances
permit, it would afford me much pleasure to do so, as well
as to examine Lochnagar, Morven, Culbleen, the Linn of
Dee, the Falls of Glen Lui and Glen Muick, and other in-
teresting portions of this ample district.

“ QO, Father, Lord!

The All-Beneficent ! I bless thy name,
That Thou hast mantled the green earth with flowers,
Linking our hearts to Nature! *

By the breath of flowers,
Thou callest us, from city throngs and cares,
Back to the woods, the birds, the mountain-streams,
That sing of Thee! back to free Childhood’s heart,
Fresh with the dews of tendertgss Lhe

43

APPENDIX.

In presenting a brief sketch of the botany of the southern
part of Forfarshire, my space will not admit of entering into
details, however agreeable such a task might be; but merely
to indicate the situation of the principal localities visited, and
mention a few of the rarer plants they produce.

COAST OF FORFARSHIRE.

NINEWELLS.

From the confines of the county at Invergowrie to the
village of Ninewells, two miles and a half west from Dundee,
the Tay is margined with a very narrow stripe of waste land
that had once been covered by its waters, but which is now
overgrown with Rosa rubiginosa, canina, tomentosa, and
spinossissima, and a great profusion of wild plants, the most
interesting of which are Anchusa sempervirens, and Lithos-
permum officinale. Several good mosess also occur, as
Weissia lanceolata, Tortula convoluta, Funaria Muhlen-
bergw, and Gymnostomum Hemi.

es (ae
bight Er
PES

WILL’S BRAES.

Under this name, a range of rocks extends from Ninewells
to the west end of Dundee, covered with rather r young wood,
and bounded on the north by corn-fields, and on . the south by
the river Tay. They also produce abundance of plants; but

44

the principal rarities are, Viola hirta, Geranium sanguineum,
Astragalus glycyphyllos, Spirea Filipendula, and Potentilla
verna. ‘The latter occurs only in one spot, but is there abun-
dant; and on a warm sunny day in May, when it is in full
flower, nothing can be more beautiful than its exuberance of
golden blossoms spangling the green slope on which it grows.
Echium vulgare, with its spiked racemes of brilliant blue
flowers, the robust and woolly-leaved Verbascum Thapsus,
the medicinal Agrimonia Eupatoria, and various Hyperica
and Centauree, with hosts of others, lend their summer beauty
to the adornment of these rocks and braes.

SANDS OF BARRIE.

To the eastward of Dundee there is little of interest till
reaching the Sands of Barrie, except Sedum Anglicum and
a few other things at the Harr Craias, and various maritime
plants and algze between Broughty and Monifieth. These sands
extend from Monifieth to Carnoustie, about ten miles to the
eastward of Dundee, and run out several miles into the Frith
of Tay, their extremity in that direction being called Button-
ness, and near to which are erected two light-houses, for the
purpose of facilitating the navigation of the entrance to the
river. It has long been known to botanists that these sandy
downs are rich in botanical treasures, and have been rendered
classic ground by the indefatigable researches of the late en-.
thusiastic and highly-fayoured disciple of Flora, George Don
of Forfar ; and, indeed, so interesting are its productions, both
vegetable and animal, that I have thought of devoting a little
pamphlet like the present to it exclusively, provided such a
number of Nature’s votaries aid me as defray the expenses
of its printing. ‘Tn this might be noticed the various species
of flowering-plants, ferns, mosses, hepatice, lichens, alge,
fungi, zoophytes, starfishes, shells, insects, fishes, reptiles,
birds, and quadrupeds, as have been hitherto observed on
these sane, and in the estuary of the Tay bounding them.

es, . of bee d

45

Perhaps a few such local sketches, however imperfect, might
ultimately form a volume not altogether devoid of interest ;
but of this I will léave my readers and the botanical public
to be judges, and act upon their decision.

It may here be mentioned, that on these Sands are found,
among multitudes of others, the following rarities,—Carex
incurva, Juncus Balticus, Scirpus pauciflorus, Gentiana
Amarella, Elymus arenarius, Equisetum variegatum, Didy-
modon inclinatus, Weissia ngrita, Bryum trichodes, Hyp-
num abietinum and polymorphum, Stereocaulon tomentosum,
new to Britain, &c.

AUCHMITHIE.

This is a little fishing-village, three miles east from Ar-
broath, and its rocky bay is productive of some good plants.
The rare Asperugo procumbens grows here, and in the caves
and rocky crevices Asplenium marinum and Scolopendrium
vulgare,—the fronds of the latter displaying endless varieties
of form, from reniform and simply lanceolate to almost pal-
mate. Weissia verticillata and Hypnum tenellum are also
found here; and on the rocks at low water many curious
alge, as Himantholia lorea, Chylocladia kaliformis, Ptilota
plumosa f. capillaris, Gigartina plicata, Conferva arcta,
and many others.

The cliffs all the way from Arbroath to Montrose are of the
wildest character, full of bays, and fissures, and caves, lashed
by the foaming ocean, and garnished in summer with a pro-
fusion of flowers, and animated by myriads of sea-birds,
forming scenery of terrific grandeur, softened by the hues of
beauty. Along these rocks may be seen patches of Szlene
maritima, Dianthus deltoides, Armeria m maritima, Geranium
sanguineum, Campanula glomerata, Vicia sylvatica, Astra-
galus hypoglottis and glycyphyllos loaded with flowers, and
numerous other blossoms of various colours enamelling their
verdant summits. ig

See

46

At Usan, the Ligusticum scoticum and Artemisia mari-
tima are found, and on the sea-beach the curious Steenham-
mera maritima.

On Montrose Links, a tract similar to the Sands of
Barrie, grow Silene conica, Botrychium Lunaria, and Ce-
rastium tetrandrum, with: various plants more common to
such places.

Farther along the coast, in the county of Kincardine, are
the cliffs and braes of St Cyrus, and Den Finerta. Among
the rocks of the former place, Silene nutans, Trifolium sca-
brum, Vicia lutea and sylvatica, and many other good plants,
are met with; and in the latter, where there is a pretty
little waterfall, Paris quadrifolia, Hockeria lucens, &c.

SIDLAW HILLS.

These hills bound the Vale of Strathmore on the south
from Perth to the German Ocean; and their highest sum-
mits rise in the parishes of Auchterhouse and Tealing. Craig
Owl in the latter parish is the highest summit, and is about
1600 feet above the level of the sea. To the eastward of it,
on the southern slope of a lower hill, is spread out the DrER-
HILL Woop, or Hill Wood of Tealing, interesting on account
of the lichens which it produces. Here I had the pleasure
of discovering the true apothecia of Alectoria jubata, which
were before unknown. And the trees also are in many
places richly adorned. w with - Cetraria sepincola and glauca,
Usnea barbata and lorida, Borrera furfuracea, Evernia
prunastri, Ramalina fastigiata, and Par a physodes,—
all more or less: plentifully. bearing fructification ; and on the
ground are Tungermannia Lyoni and ciliaris, Hypnum Cris-
ta-castrenst,

and, Schrebert, Bryum dealbatuim, and many

o

47

In Lumiey Woops, a little farther north, near a pass which
winds round a deep hollow called Lumley Den, about eight
miles from Dundee, very fine Trientalis europea is found,
as well as Listera cordata, and other good plants. The road
which passes Lumley Den runs through the Glen of Ogilvy
to Glammis, twelve miles from Dundee; on the south side of
which is the wooded Hunters’ Hitt, where I collected va-
rious good mosses and lichens, particularly Anomodon curti-
pendulum in fruit, and fine Variolaria faginea. The Den
of Guammis stretches round its western base, and is toler-
ably rich in cryptogamics. Among other things, occur Bry-
um rostratum and crudum, Hypnum denticulatum and ca-
tenulatum, Pterogonium gracile, Orthotrichum pulchellum,
and Collema nigrescens. The Myrrhis odorata also scents
the air with its strong but agreeable perfume.

The Wuitt Hitt of AUCHTERHOUSE rises to about 1400
feet, a little to the north of the village, and to the west of
Craig Owl. It is somewhat peaked, and its southern side is
rocky and covered with debris, whitened by Isidium para-
doxum, the Variolaria corallina of Acharius,—hence its
name. Its rocks are rich in mosses and lichens, producing
Andrea rupestris, Grimmia Doniana, Anictangium cilia-
tum, Tiichostomum fasciculare, microcarpum, and heterosti-
chum, Diphyscium foliosum, Zygodon Mougeoti, Urceolaria
cinerca, Lecidea geographica, Stereocaulon denudatum, and
corallinum, &c. On the heaths are plenty of Lycopodium
Selago, alpinum, and clavatum, with Cladonia uncialis,
Beomyces roseus, and Trichostomum lanuginosum. At
the foot of the hill, on the south side, some old walls are

Islandica, Scyphophorus pysti

mis, and many more. A short Pome t be he
near Proven th Polytrichum wrnigerum,

48

rupincola, and Parmelia pulverulenta, are met with. Below
the summit of the hill, on the western side, are several small
lakes; on the marshy banks of which are found Weissia
acuta, Dicranum squarrosum, and Bartramia arcuata ; in
rocky places near them, Ad/osorus crispus ; and in a stream
descending from them to the valley behind, Hypnum scorpi-
oides, cordifolium, and filicinum, and Jungermannia cordi-
folia.

But the most interesting plant yet found on the Sidlaw
Hills is the Buabaumia aphylla. This little moss,
so highly esteemed for its exceeding rarity, as well as
its very curious structure, I had the pleasure of detecting on
the northern slope of the White Hill in May 1840, and have
gathered it since nine different times, and more plentifully in
1844 than on any previous occasion! It grows singly, or
sometimes a few together, on the bare soil of small hollows
among the heath, apparently formed by the winter snows ;
and, from its small size, and being occasionally associated
with scattered stunted Polytricha and Scyphophori, is not
readily found without the most patient and attentive scru-
tiny of these spots. In the same month and year that I met
with it on the Sidlaw Hills, my friend, Mr Lyon of Glas-
gow, found it on hills near that place, and subsequently
on Ben Ledi and the Campsie Hills.

A few miles to the south-west of Auchterhouse are situ-
ated the Cratas of Lunpiz, which I visited in September,
and found productive of some good lichens, as Sticta pul-
monaria and scrobiculata, Parmelia glomulifera, Ramalina
scopulorum, Lecidea erythrella, and severe

8
ieee

BALDOVAN WOODS.

The nearest of the Sidlaw Hills are between six and seven
miles from Dundee; and about half-way, on the old road to
Glammis, are the Baldovan Woods, on the estate of Sir
John Ogilvy, Bart. of Baldovan. They are not extensive,
but very interesting to the botanist, from the number of rare
and beautiful plants they contain. That delicate orchideous
plant, the Zistera cordata, is here in profusion, as well as
Trollius europeus, Pyrola minor, Trientalis ewropea, and
Equisetum sylvaticum. Various Salices also occur, particularly
Salix Weigeliana and fusca ; and there is abundance of Vac-
cinium Myrtillus and Vitis-Id@a, with our native heaths, and
the elegant tufted fronds of Lastrea Oreopteris, and dilatata,
Lomaria Spicant, and other ferns. Gialium sazatile whitens
some of the mossy banks, and marshy spots are adorned with
Orchis latifolia and maculata. The Hypnum Crista-
castrensis and other good mosses are found in these woods,
and on the walls surrounding them various species of lichens,
as Parmelia saxatilis, physodes, parietina, pulverulenta,
stellaris, and olivacea, Borrera ciliaris, and tenella, Le-
canora Parella, Lecidea petrea, Isidium corallinum, Scy-
phophorus cocciferus, &c. Various fungi are also met with ;
among which may be mentioned Uredo Pyrola, and gyrosa,
Aicidium Viole, Thelephora palmata, and laciniata,
Clavaria coralloides, and vermicularis, Mitrula paludosa,
and Polyporus versicolor, with multitudes of Agarics and

in the vicinity ¢ re) id C: ains, about. half-
way between | , 0 farther east

from the toll-} mike ohty _ 3 F rfar road.

he
a

~ — ep

Its rarities are Doronicum Pardalianches, Adoxa moscha-
tellina, Geranium pheum, and lucidum, Violu odorata,
Polygonum Bistorta, Hieracium aurantiacum, and Ru-
mek sanguineus. Some of these may have been introduced,
but are now thoroughly naturalized.

RESCOBIE LAKE,
0
4)
This Lake, which is a beautiful sheet of water, is situated

a little to the eastward of Forfar, on the line of the Arbroath
and Forfar Railway, and was visited in June and August.
Its banks are partly wooded and partly marshy, and offer to
the botanist an ample field for research. In June, I collect-
ed there Carex filiformis, teretiuscula, paniculata, curta,
intermedia, Goodenovit, and ampullacea, Lysimachia thyr-
siflora, Utricularia intermedia, and Salia pentandra ;
with Hypnum cuspidatum and cordifoliwm in fruit, and
the new Brywm lately discovered in Yorkshire by Mr No-
well, B. mnioides Wits. MSS. The Nuphar lutea was
plentiful, and Vymphea alba, the beautiful water-lily, was

“ Crowning the depths, as with the light serene
Of a pure heart.”

In August, the Potamogeton zosterefolius, lucens, and
pusilla, were obtained, with Ceratophyllum demersum,

Sparganium natans, Ranunculus Lingua, Alisma ranun-

culoides, Cicuta virosds, and Salix yticae + Dicranum
heteromallum were plentiful,
and there wer Hypnum den-
droides and Spi 2 Ne air was filled
with the p Me ee

Was emulating

<< i
~
the bright tints of the heavens and the waters with its small
starry blossoms.

Besides the numerous plants collected in the various locali-
ties visited by the writer of these pages in 1844, he has been
indebted to the kindness of several friends for specimens, in
exchange, of many rarities, to enrich his parcels. From Dr
Dickie, Aberdeen, he received the new Pottia crinita. G.J.
Lyon, Esq. of Glasgow, sent Glyphomitrion Daviesii, Gym-
nostomum tenue, Hypnum flagellare, and numerous others.
J. Sidebotham, Esq. of Manchester, forwarded several of the
new species of mosses; Mr Nowell a supply of Schistostega
pennata, Weissia trichodes, Bryum mnioides, and other rare
mosses from Yorkshire; and Mr Ibbotson Hypnum nitens
from the same county. From Dr Ayres he received speci-
mens of the new Hysterium rubrum and the rare Acidium
Primule. Mr Croall, Ardersier, Inverness-shire, sent from
that county Lycopodium inundatum, Erythrea linariifolia,
&c., and procured from its locality in Ross-shire a supply of
the beautiful Pinguwicula alpina. Messrs Bousie and Laing
gathered several good plants about Kinnaird, near Brechin,—
as Galium erectum, Epilobium roseum, Corallorhiza in-
nata, Phascum alternifolium, &c. Mr Kerr of Montrose
sent various coast plants; and Mr Smith gathered for him
the Moneses grandiflora in Scone Woods, and the Scheuch-
zeria palustris from its locality near Methven. To all
these he tenders his warmest acknowledgments.

ORDERS AND GENERA OF PLANTS DISTRIBUTED IN 1844,

Berberidee,
Nympheacez,
Crucifere,.......
Violareze, ...
Droseracee, ...
Cary gubyle>,
Line, . erceons
Hyperi icine, socio
Geraniacee, ..
Leeuminose,...
Rosacee, .....
Onagrarie...,
Haloragee,......
Ceratophyllez,
Crassulace,......
Saxifrages, ....

Umbelliferee, ..
Araliaces, ........ Smilacez.......
Cerne: Asis ests Melanthacex,
rifoliace, ... JUNCER,......00.0005
ubiacez, ...... Hydrocharidee, ..
Gamncaees FA Orchideze, ........
Vaccines, .... Graminee, ....
TRIVICEEEy ss prenastraacvancrancdeecencsts Peer aceieee 5 CYPeCVaceae, ...cccsesrecsessrsrsverens teresa
Cellulares.
Filices,... Rdevabevahcencndesaanccsaetaroeabecr ep ane: Uceacer. Paetaceusiceanaaee Sa saveseh D
Lycopodiacex, neal enes, ... a
Marsilaces...... Gee:

Equisetacezx,

TABLE

OF THE

TO BRITISH BOTANISTS,

BY WILLIAM GARDINER.

Pasculares.
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Boragines, .........
Scrophularinew, 3
Labiate, ..............
Lentibulariz,.
Primulacez, ..
Plumbaginez....
pene pede: ae
Polygonee, ..
Empetrez, Beta
Amentacez,
Myricee, .>..
Coniferee,..

Alismacex,..

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