ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 243 



Dr. A. R. Duguid; Rackwick, Mr. R. Heddle ; Hill of Hoy, 

 Dr. Syme, " Bot. Gazette," ii. 107, 1850. 



Reported also from " Mountains of Aberdeenshire," Mr. David 

 Don and from W. Ross in "Gairloch," 1886, by J. H. Dixon. It 

 also occurs in Ireland in Co. Clare, and in the island of Inishmore. 

 For remarks on its stations, altitude, etc., see N. Colgan, " Journal 

 of Botany," 310, 1892; A. Bennett, "J. B.," 50, 1893; S. M. 

 Macvicar, " J. B.," 252, 1895 ; and "Trans. Bot. Soc., Edinburgh," 

 183, 1899, " Cybele Hibernica," ed. 2, 296, 1898. 



I have a specimen from Scarp, O. Hebrides, just coming into 

 flower, May i3th. It may be interesting to quote Mr. Duncan's 

 observations on the growth in Scarp. On taking up specimens in 

 November he found a central plant, with smaller ones around it ; on 

 inspecting the roots of these he found they ended abruptly, the 

 surface looking like a healed wound. " From this appearance I 

 inferred that these small ones were shoots from an older one, and 

 that therefore the plant is perennial." In cultivation the process 

 seems to be in this way. When the plant has grown sufficiently 

 large, it produces an erect flowering stem, which is in flower first. 

 Then semi-procumbent flowering stems are produced all round (vary- 

 ing, however, in number), as these flower and produce fruit, on the 

 under side of these short stolons are produced whose leaves lie flat 

 on the ground. These grow on until the autumn, and in November 

 (or even the next January) become detached as separate plants. 

 When grown from seed the leaves lie flat on the ground when full 

 grown, but before this they are half closed together, and the hairs 

 intersecting, they look just like a trap. They flower the second year. 



ZOOLOGICAL NOTES. 



An imported Black Rat in "Dee." Whilst unloading a cargo 

 of African Esparto Grass off the railway trucks here, our men killed 

 a Black Rat (Mas rattus}. I saw it a few minutes afterwards, and 

 sent it in to Mr. George Sim for identification, who said it was a 

 three-quarter grown specimen. It has doubtless come from abroad, 

 but all the same it is rather remarkable that it should have stuck 

 to the grass and done a fifteen-mile journey by rail besides. 

 THOMAS TAIT, Inverurie. 



Jays in Argyll correction of an error. Mr. Heatley Noble 

 has called my attention to the fact that it was on my recommenda- 

 tion that he gave his note on "Jays in Argyllshire in the "Ann. 

 Scot. Nat. Hist." April 1904, p. 125. I must assuredly take all 



