\ 
Li 
338 JOTTINGS ON THE MOUNTAINS. \ 
run " among the cliffs, Polytrichum hercynicum occurred, very fine and 
in great profusion, covering the perpendicular faces of the little step- 
like hillocks, producing capsules and male flowers in abundance. The 
more elevated knolls were covered with finely fruited patches of the 
curious Diphyscium foliosum, whilst in crevices and somewhat damp re- 
cesses of the rocks, close by, the singular Edipodium Griffithianum was 
fructifying abundantly, many of the stems half an inch in length. On 
the bare spots among the rocks Conostomum boreale was fruiting in pro- 
fusion, and on bare ground on the summit above Solorina crocea was 
gathered sparingly. 
At the base of Craig Rennet, on the Glen Dole side, Linnea borealis 
was flowering abundantly ; here also Alchemilla conjuncta has been since 
rediscovered by my acute friend Mr. Black. Higher up, on the principal 
stream, Diphyscium foliosum, Bryum Zierii in fine fruit; Saxifraga op- 
positifolia and Silene acaulis were still in flower, the latter abundantly 
towards the summit. On damp rocks about the stream Hieracium Law- 
sont waved its stately plumes, and on dry rocks on the left the large 
flowers of the Hieracium alpinum nodded in the breeze. Creeping on 
a tuft of wet moss Hymenophyllum Wilsoni was found sparingly in fruit, 
and the shelving rocks near the stream were beautifully carpeted with 
large fleeces of Trichostomum patens, with stems from three to five 
inches in length, and capsules in abundance, and along with it fine 
specimens of Grimmia stricta, Turn. Salix reticulata was plentiful 
among the damper rocks, and near the falls Jungermannia concinnata. 
While looking up from the bottom of the Glen, towards the summit 
of the cliffs, the latter dwindle into little step-like shelves, and the 
streams and waterfalls all but disappear; but on scrambling up, the 
former will often be found expanding into broad shelves, where the 
weary botanist may repose in safety after his toilsome ascent, and the 
latter are frequently numerous and pour their foaming waters over the 
precipices with a deafening din, scattering their froth and spray for . 
yards around. Amid such scenes several alpine plants display their 
greatest beauty and luxuriance, while others are there only to be met 
with. 
Nothing could excel the brilliant festoons of the Saxifraga, aizoides, 
hypnoides, and oppositifolia, that here depend from the wet and drip- 
ping rocks, or the starry beauty of the Saxifraga stellaris, whose often 
single stems, terminated by clusters of flowers, remind one of mini?- 
