The Scottish Naturalist. 55 



that it is not the first, but only the largest, piece of auriferous 

 quartz that has been found about Wanlockhead or Leadhills, 

 even by Gemmell himself. The latter writes me — " There is 

 gold to be found here in all the glens, less or more, in small 

 particles, and sometimes (the gold-grains are) attached to small 

 pieces of quartz. I believe all the grains to be found come from 

 gold-reefs. I never knew of any (gold-quartz) being found here 

 as large."* Dr. Wilson remarks of Gemmell, "according to his 

 own account, he has often found gold in quartz at Wanlock- 

 head. At Leadhills it is found frequently ; " though it is not 

 quite clear whether the latter sentence refers to quartz-gold or 

 nuggety-gold. " He, with other residents, assures me that both 

 gold in quartz and in nuggets is found here (Wanlockhead)." 

 Mr. Stewart tells me that "some small pieces of quartz and gold 

 connected have been found from time to time in this district, 

 but nothing equal in the least degree to Gemmell's specimen, 

 which was as large as a man's two hands." f And lastly, Mr. 

 Noble of the Hopetoun Arms Hotel, Leadhills, who was the 

 means of procuring me samples of stream gold from that 

 locality in i863, informs me, " I do not know of any gold 

 specimen in the meantime in the rock. I believe it has been 

 got in that way about Leadhills." It is proper here to mention 

 also that, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, an English adven- 

 turer, George Bowes, "is said to have sunk a shaft, and 

 discovered a small vein of gold at Wanlockhead ; " } while, in 

 the time of King James V., pieces of gold of 30 ounce weight 

 were found in the same neighbourhood " mixed zaith the spar, 

 some with keel, and some with brimstone." § 



But this discovery of Gemmell's, though by far the most 

 important, is not the only recent instance of the finding of 

 gold-quartz, or of quartz associated with gold nuggets, in Scot- 

 land. Gold was found in quartz — that is gold in its matrix — 

 as well as nuggets with adherent or intermixed quartz, in Kil- 

 donan in 1869; of which I saw several specimens myself in the 

 hands of the diggers. || I then reported that I had seen "'not a 



* Letter dated February 10, 1875. t Letter dated February 10, 1875. 



+ "The search for Scottish Gold in olden times," Part III., by Mr. R. 

 S. Fittis of Perth, in the " Perthshire Constitutional" of March 30, 1874. 



§ Ibid, Part II., March 23, 1874. 



|| Article on "The Goldfield and Gold-diggings of Kildonan," in the 

 " Northern Ensign" of September 16, 1869. 



