THE PLANTS OF ABERDEENSHIRE. 133 
may make an approximation to the truth. On passing in- 
land, and consequently (in Aberdeenshire at least), ascending, 
We find that the five plants already mentioned all become 
more and more abundant; and that, not in the immediate 
Vicinity of any large stream which might be supposed to 
have conveyed them, they are also associated with others 
which are more permanent in their stations. The following 
may be considered as the order in which they naturally ap- 
` pear at their lower limits, Epilobium alpinum, Alchemilla al- 
pina, Festuca vivipara, Oxyria reniformis, and Saxifraga 
aizoides, the last descending naturally lower than the others. 
Many plants of the lower parts of the country, when reach- 
ing, as they often do, considerable altitudes, become less 
fastidious in regard to the situation in which they grow, 
chiefly in reference to its comparative moisture. 
It is by springs, at high altitudes, where we principally 
meet with such associations as Montia fontana, Saxifraga 
stellaris, Caltha palustris, Epilobium alsinifolium, Apargia 
autumnalis, Bellis perennis, Ranunculus Flammula, R. acris, : 
Stellaria uliginosa, Empetrum nigrum, Juncus squarrosus, 
Galium saxatile, Blechnum boreale, Prunella vulgaris, Leon- 
todon Taraxacum, Trifolium repens, Nardus stricta and Ve- 
Tonica officinalis; the water of the springs retaining a tem- 
perature more equable than that of the air, thus favours 
the development of these plants, many of which are natu- 
rally common in the lower districts, but in situations of a 
. Very opposite character. ; E eccl iet 
Mr. Watson, whose investigations must be familiar to all 
who have paid any attention to this interesting subject, has 
2 left So little undone, that the present communication and a 
| Subsequent one, can only be considered supplementary to 
_ that gentleman’s published works, and his papers in previous 
. numbers of this Journal. ; 
: The following list exhibits the highest observed altitudes 
.. "^ Aberdeenshire, of the plants mentioned, all of which also 
.. Cur at, or near the sea-level. In a subsequent commu- 
. Pication, the lowest stations will be given, of plants na- 
