2 The Scottish Naturalist. 



the trunk in its original condition could hardly have been less 

 than 4 or 4^^ feet in diameter. The canoe seems to have 

 measured originally 3^ feet across, and from the top of the 

 gunwale vertically to the bottom we found was 3 feet. The 

 dug-out cavity was 6 feet long by 2 feet in depth. At its bottom 

 it measured i j^ foot in breadth ; and if both sides sloped upwards 

 at the same angle as the remaining one, the cavity must have had 

 a breadth between the gunwale of 3 feet. The gunwale was 



3 inches thick at the top, but as the wood had decayed, the 

 sides probably rose originally a little higher. Owing to the wasted 

 condition of the two extremities we could not tell whether or not 

 the " dug-out " part was midway between stem and stern. Both 

 side and bottom of the cavity showed evident marks of the action 

 of fire — the wood being distinctly charred in some places. We 

 made several incisions through the charred portions, and found 

 the wood at the depth of a few lines singularly firm and sound — 

 the colour resembling that of a recently-felled tree, but being a 

 somewhat darker red. We had no doubt that the cavity had 

 been excavated by the old canoe-maker in the usual way — the 

 wood had been alternately charred and scraped, until the re- 

 quisite capacity had been obtained. 



As far as I know, this is the first recorded instance of the 

 discovery of a canoe in the old alluvial deposits of the Tay; and 

 therefore a few geological notes on the nature of these deposits, 

 and the exact position in which the canoe was found, may not be 

 without interest. 



The section at the brick-works is as follows : — 



oil I}* • • • • • ■ • • 



Clay, ......... 



Peat, ..... .... 



Fine yellowish white sand, ..... 



Gravel, not passed through, . . . . . — — 



These deposits form what I shall call the second alluvial 

 terrace of the Tay. In the immediate neighbourhood of Perth, 

 there are three such terraces. The first, or that which occupies 

 the lowest level, is the modern alluvial accumulation of the river. 

 It forms the wide flats of the North and South Inches, and by 

 far the larger part of the city is built upon it. Its upper surface 

 seldom exceeds 20 feet above mean-tide level, such parts of the 

 old town as are a few feet higher owing their increased height 

 probably to the superficial accumulation of rubbish. In the 

 immediate neiglibourhood of the river the surface of this terrace 



