36 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



map No. 101 as thinning out near the county boundary, it 

 was felt desirable to explore this portion of country, which 

 is situated amidst wild and romantic scenery. The district 

 is sufficiently remote to hinder many botanists from visiting 

 it ; and probably but little change has taken place since Dr. 

 Lightfoot explored it. Either the miles are shorter now, or 

 the new road is less direct, for we found the distance from 

 Ullapool to the county boundary to be about 14 miles. 

 This county boundary is marked by an iron railing near a 

 small watercourse on a range of cliffs which, on the Ordnance 

 sheet No. 101, are called Cnoc-an-t'-Sasunnaich, the summit 

 of which is given as 1258 feet in altitude. The county 

 boundary crosses its highest point. From the top the fine 

 hills of Ben More of Coigach, An Stack, Suilven, Canisp, and 

 Ben More of Assynt are to be seen. The high road from 

 Ullapool to Inchnadamph passes at the base of the Cnoc-an 

 rocks, and is between 700 and 800 feet above the sea-level. 

 The rocks are very interesting from a geological point of 

 view, as the fucoid beds are capped with limestone. The 

 limestone beds touch the level of the road at the hamlet of 

 Knockain ; but the beds slope upwards to the county 

 boundary, where they have thinned out, and are present only 

 as a small strip at the top of the cliffs. But slightly as they 

 are represented in Ross-shire, the influence of the limestone 

 is shown by the occurrence of Dryas octopetala, etc. The 

 flora of the Sutherlandshire portion of the rocks is very 

 interesting. Doubtless it was in this county that Dr. Light- 

 foot saw the Dryas, etc., since the Dryas is not only a pro- 

 minent feature in the vegetation on the rocks, but it is also 

 present by the roadside in Elphin. Polystichum Lonchitis 

 occurs in considerable quantity, and Asplenittm viride is 

 plentiful. Both descend to 800 feet. Both Phegopteris 

 polypodioides and P. Dryopteris occur ; but the latter not in 

 its typical form, since it has somewhat of the facies of P. 

 Robertiana. A small form of Aspleniitm Ruta-muraria was 

 seen, which simulated the rare A. germanicum. It is the 

 var. pseudo-germamcnni of Milde. *Adoxa MoscJiatellina^ 



1 The asterisk before the name of a plant denotes that it is not included in 

 "Top. Bot." for Sutherland West, but as considerable work at the botany of 

 the west division of the county has been done since its publication, the present 

 records are not necessarily new to the region. 



