262 The Plant World. 



From Carter Fell the road descends rapidly and in the Tweed 

 drainage there is abundant evidence of milder climatic condi- 

 tions. Som.e of the finest oak trees we found on the trip were at 

 Dryburgh, on the Tweed, where one may now see druidical 

 remains in the form of sacrificial altars and m.ounds. Along the 

 valley of the Clyde, also, the trees, especially alders, beeches 

 and oaks, are plentiful. Private parks contain many introduced 

 forms like rhododendrons, which grow finely, yews, and the 

 Cedar of Lebanon and its allies. The winding valleys, with still 

 more winding streams, where there are many large and well 

 kept estates of which we got glim.pses through roadside hedges, 

 the few ancient castles, doing duty no longer, the ruined abbeys 

 and quaint towns, all conspired to m.ake of this a most picturesque 

 and romantic countryside. 



We first saw braes at Bannockburn, where the anniversary 

 of Bruce's victory was being celebrated as we drove through the 

 village, and at Sterling, a short distance beyond. A compre- 

 hensive view of these braes, those of the Forth, is to be had 

 from the old castle at Sterling. To the east and to the west, for 

 many miles, the floodplain stretches, and through it the serpen- 

 tine river makes its slow way to the sea. Mountains and hills 

 bound the plain, those on the west being among the highest in 

 Scotland. In the far west we saw the shimmer of snow on a 

 mountain which lay in the direction of Ben Lomond. This was 

 June 25th. 



Among the braes on our way to Callander we passed at first 

 through a farming country, and later through a country some- 

 what hilly and with fine trees in small plantings. Callander is 

 a few miles beyond the braes and is on the edge of the lake dis- 

 trict of Scotland. Immediately to the west lie Loch Vennachar, 

 Loch Achray, and Loch Katrine, and the Trossacks, celebrated 

 for their beauty. We made an excursion on foot from Callander 

 to the Trossacks and Loch Katrine. By the roadside were m.any 

 species of flowering plants, among which were two or three or- 

 chids. The mountain slopes above the lakes are, in places, 

 densely covered with trees, which appear to be natural forests, 

 of what sorts we did not learn, and by the sides of streams and 

 the lakes were groups of birch, alder and beech. We passed, 

 also, the edge of an extensive oak forest, mostly of small trees, 



