THE FERNS OP SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 79 



Dornoch Frith, by a fine bridge, lately built, runs along its bank to In- 



verinn, now through bare moor, now through fine fields covered with rich 



crops, now through woods of fir, oak, beech, etc., now at the foot of high 



rocks a little above the stream, whose opposite bank rises to a great height, 



rugged and steep, and "feathered o'er" with birch, with the river here 



spreading out and running amidst huge rocks, now overhung with wood, 



now running between high steep rocks in black boiling pools, now over a ledge 



of rocks in white foam, now again with brawling noise among loose rocks, 



that have tumbled from its high banks. My intention was to lodge at said 



Inverinn, but 



"The best laid schemes o' mice and men 

 Gang aft a-gley." 



I was told I could not be accommodated. Nothing daunted, although 

 I had already walked over twenty six miles without halting, I resolved to 

 walk to Bonar Bridge, about four miles farther down. Having taken in 

 coals and water in the shape of a hearty tea, I got up steam, and pro- 

 ceeded at a fair rate, and arrived in due time at my destination. Next 

 day my journey was to Tain, about eleven miles farther down the Frith, 

 a short walk, as I was somewhat tired. 



I was now in Ross, and the country becomes every mile more beautiful. 

 The road winds along within view of the Frith, now close to it, now with 

 a few trees between, now through a thick wood, now away from the Frith, 

 with fine fields stretching to its shore; now through an uncultivated space 

 beset with broom, etc.; now out of view of the Frith, through fields rich 

 in crops of rye, wheat, oats, etc.; now hemmed in by dykes, overrun with 

 the more common species of Fern; now at the foot of a steep slope, planted 

 with various kinds of trees, and undergrown with broom, the brier-rose, 

 foxglove, and Ferns. Away on the other side are dark green woods, 

 interspersed with cultivated fields waving with yellow crops, and farm 

 houses, and . cottages, all backed by high hills. The whole line along the 

 road is one great Fernery. I never saw them growing in such perfection. 



Poli/podium vulgare, P. dryopteris, Lastrea Jilix-mas, four feet in length, 

 L. dilatata, as. luxuriant, L. spinulosa, L. oreopteris, Athyrium Jilix-fcemina, 

 in most magnificent crowns, Polystichum loncliitis, P. angulare, hanging in 

 graceful festoons of two and a half or three feet long. From the crevices 

 of the old red sandstone rock, Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, A. tricliomanes, 

 six or seven inches long; Pteris aquilina and Cystopteris fragilis reward 

 half an hour's search. 



I left Tain next morning for Invergordon. One would think he was 

 walking through some nobleman's park. The roads are excellent, bordered 

 by hedges and overhung with trees. The farms are highly cultivated, and 

 laid off in parks, while the houses are mostly surrounded with trees, over- 



