234 ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF TH E SOUTH OF SCOTLAND. 



The low round hills which bound the valley, present the same characters as 

 those described in the course of the Tweed, but are covered with a finer vegeta- 

 tion, the greater part being green, even to the summit. The soil is a mixture 

 of clay and sand, with pebbles of grey-wacke, and the diluvial subsoil is of the 

 same nature. 



As this district is celebrated for its pastures, one would naturally expect to 

 find them of the finest quality ; but, in fact, they present nothing remarkable in 

 their appearance. On the high grounds Calluna vulgaris is the predominant 

 species, which, when allowed to grow, choaks up most of the other plants, al- 

 though it does not attain a great height, and is not nearly so strong as in the 

 West and North Highlands. When it has been burnt, several grasses, such as 

 Nardus stricta, Aira flexuosa, Anthoxanthum odoratum, and Agrostis vulgaris, 

 spring up or are developed, together with Juncus squarrosus, J. acutiflorus, a 

 few Carices, Eriophorum angustifoAum, and the more ordinary heath plants, as 

 Tormentilla officinalis, Poly gala vulgaris, Pedicidaris sylvatica, P. palustris and 

 Bartsia odontites. A thick sward of young Heath, however, springs up, and 

 the burning is renewed at intervals of a few years. In many places there is a 

 profusion of Ptcris aquilina and a few other Ferns, as Blechnum boreale, Aspi- 

 dium filix-mas, and Polypodium vulgare, make their appearance. In the 

 marshy places the vegetation is similar to that of such grounds in other hilly 

 districts. On the whole, the vegetation of the higher parts is not luxuriant, but 

 it seems in general well adapted for cattle. That of the slopes and lower grounds 

 differs in no respect, as to the species composing it, from the pasturage of the 

 Pentland and Ochill Hills ; but owing to the great proportion of Junci, Melica 

 cccrulea, Nardus stricta, Scirpus ccespitosus, and other Cypcracecu, is more 

 verdant, and often produces dense crops, which might be cut with the scythe to 

 a great extent. 



St. Mary's Loch has been lauded beyond its deserts. Were it placed among 

 the Grampians, it would attract little notice ; but here, where one may wander 

 whole days among uniform, smooth, grassy hills, without meeting with so much 

 as a good peat bog, it does afford no ordinary degree of pleasure to the naturalist 

 who for the first time views its smooth expanse embosom'ed among the pastoral 

 mountains, the bright tints of which are reflected from its glassy surface. 

 Perhaps a sheet of water is beautiful under any circumstances, unless indeed it 

 be composed of an infusion of peat surrounded by bogs, like the lakes of Lewis 

 and North Uist ; but the beauty of a lake principally depends upon the character 

 of the surrounding scenery. That of St. Mary's Loch is of the most simple 

 character, consisting entirely of rounded, uniform, mostly verdant hills, with stoep 

 slopes, covered with a coarse grassy vegetation, and occasionally some Fern. A 

 few bushes and decayed trees add in a manner to the general nakedness, and 



