REPORTS ON EXCURSIONS. 245 



adding another parish (Kirkoswald) to those for which the plant 

 is recorded in Mr. Smith's list. The Twayblade (Lister a ovata, 

 R. Br.) was in great abundance. Mr. P. Ewing, F.L.S., dis- 

 covered an unusual grass which he identified as Poa Chaixii, 

 Vill. Miss Cathcart stated that it originally came from 

 Switzerland, and that her great-grandfather, Robert Muir, 

 accompanied by his gardener, spent a year gathering plants 

 in that country. 



Monkland and Wooditall, 22nd June, 1907. — Mr. A. B. 

 Motherwell, conductor. As a joint-excursion with the Airdrie 

 and Coatbridge Naturalists' Societies, this was attended by a 

 party numbering twenty-six, ten of whom were members of this 

 Society. The weather conditions were not very favourable, 

 owing to a severe thunderstorm, with heavv showers of rain and 

 hail, passing over the district. 



As its name implies, the estate of Monkland formed part of 

 the possessions of the monks of the Abbey of Newbattle, in Mid- 

 lothian, to whom the land now comprehended in the Parishes of 

 Old Monkland and New Monkland was conveyed by King 

 Malcolm IV. in the year 1160. The royal charter is still extant, 

 and conveys the land, with "the woods, mosses, muirs. and 

 meadows thereto belonging." From this we infer that the land 

 was then uncultivated and entirely pastoral. The monks, how- 

 ever, soon brought it under cultivation, and erected at Drum- 

 pellier, in the Parish of Old Monkland, a large grange for storing 

 their grain. They also formed a road for cattle and wheeled 

 vehicles from Newbattle Abbey to Drumpellier, which continued 

 to be the high road from Airdrie to Edinburgh until the present 

 turnpike road was made about the year 1791. Portions of the 

 old road can still be seen. Monkland House is in the Scotch 

 Baronial style of architecture. It was erected about the year 

 1650, and is now the property of Baron Elphinstone of 

 Elphinstone. 



With reference to the origin of the name Woodhall, it may be 

 remarked that although the woods surrounding the ruined hall 

 are neither very extensive nor old, there is reason to believe that 

 at the time when the Monklands were conveyed by King Malcolm 

 to the monastery of Newbattle considerable portions of the 



