' the Berwickshire Naturalists' 1 Club. 19 



her gardener, in her lately published Memoirs, for a know- 

 ledge of which, as of the plant itself, we are indebted to Mr. 

 Embleton. 



While, on the one hand, the Scottish flora owes two good 

 additions to this club ; on the other, it has contributed two 

 also to the floral catalogue of Northumberland; and both of 

 these are the discoveries of our secretary. It was long be- 

 lieved that the vernal squill was peculiar to the western coasts 

 of England ; but the discovery of it by the Rev. A. Baird on 

 the coast of Berwickshire removed this their peculiar orna- 

 ment and boast; and Mr. Embleton has extended its eastern 

 range, for he finds it in abundance at Dunstanborough Castle. 

 Aspidium Thelypteris is the other new Northumbrian plant ; 

 and it is not a little curious that this fern, which is stated by 

 Dr. Hooker to be abundant in Scotland, should not be found 

 at all in Berwickshire, and is so rare in the north of England 

 that it has escaped the notice of the many acute botanists 

 who have botanised there, until this late date, when Mr. Em- 

 bleton drew it from its lurking-place in Learmouth bogs, on 

 the very verge of the kingdom. 



May I urge those members of the club who devote them- 

 selves more exclusively to botany, to continue the researches 

 which have been so productive during the past year ? for the 

 field is not exhausted so long as there remains a corner of the 

 county unexplored ; and there are, I ween, not a few 



" spots that seem to lie 



Sacred to flowerets of the hills,' 



where no one has yet wandered, and where no one will wan- 

 der, " save he who follows nature." There is too much to 

 learn of the habits and properties of our common plants; and 

 I may mention, as an illustration of the remark, the observ- 

 ation which was made on thebutterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) 

 during our excursion to Cheviot. It was then accidentally 

 observed, that, when specimens of this plant were somewhat 

 rudely pulled up, the flower stalk, previously erect, almost 

 immediately began to bend itself backwards, and formed a 

 more or less perfect segment of a circle ; and so, also, if a 

 specimen is placed in the botanic box, you will in a short time 

 find that the leaves have curled themselves backwards, and 

 now conceal the root by their revolution. Now, the butter- 

 wort is a very common plant ; yet I am not aware that this 

 fact of its irritability has been ever mentioned. 



\_Geology.~] — In illustration of the geology of the county, a 

 very elaborate paper was read to us, at an early meeting, by 

 our zealous colleague, Dr. Thomson. He has described, in a 



c 2 



