OCCURRENCE OF THE WATER BETOXY IN ISLAY. 219 



Occurrence of the Water Betony (Scrophularia 



aquatica, L.) in Islay. 



By Thomas F. Gilmour, L.R.C.P.Ed. 



[Read 26th October, 1907.] 



Though by no means a rare plant, this species is, I think, 

 sufficiently uncommon in the West of Scotland to be worthy of 

 notice by the Society, especially as it seems to be quite new to 

 Vice-County 102. In the course of my botanical rambles I have 

 not hitherto met with it in Islay ; but this year it has appeared 

 in great plenty along the banks of the Cornabus Burn, for the 

 last half-mile of its course, and not higher up the stream. As 

 that is a part of the parish which I have been over many times, 

 it is almost impossible that the plant if present could have been 

 overlooked by me. The clumps are broad and striking, and 

 catch the eye readily, even at a distance. As a matter of fact, 

 I was two fields away when I first noticed them this summer, 

 and felt sure that here there was something new. How, then, are 

 we to account for the sudden irruption of this plant 1 I venture 

 to suggest that it is a chance introduction. The farmer, through 

 whose land the Cornabus Burn flows, came from Ayrshire, and 

 that county appears to be the only one in the West of Scotland 

 from which Scrophularia aquatica has been recorded. It may 

 possibly, therefore, have come with grain or other material. 

 All the plants occur on the banks of the lower part of the 

 stream, between the farm and the sea. It is also worth noting 

 that some years ago this burn was badly torn up by floods of a 

 prolonged and destructive character, and it is quite certain that 

 the plants have only appeared since then. 



List of Bute Plants. 



By J. Ballantyne. 



[Read 30th October, 1906.] 



Along with Arran, the two Cumbraes, and the small islet of 

 Inchmarnock, Bute is included in the group of islands known in 

 topographical botany as the " Clyde Isles," or Vice-County 100. 



