THOMAS HOPKIRK OF DALBETH. 257 



supposition that it has three drops of the devil'* 

 blood in its head, but from the fancy that its notes 

 pronounce the words, 'deil, deil, deil take thee-ee. '" 



Among other matters of which he treats are- 

 atmospheric phenomena (wind, dew, rain, &c.), frogs^ 

 and frog-spawn, oysters and "roaring buckles" and 

 other shell-fish, the transformations of insects, and 

 the luminosity of glow-worms and other creatures. 

 There are several descriptions of scenery, and one 

 of the prospect from Ascog in Bute is full of life 

 and colour. 



There is much pleasant talk about herbs and trees 

 and garden flowers, and many interesting notes as 

 to plant names and folk-lore ; but so much has been 

 already said about Hopkirk as a botanist that I 

 shall restrict myself to one reference. He gives 

 several instances of the enduring vitality of seeds. 

 Some seeds from tree-pinks growing on tlie walls 

 of Jerusalem were sent him by Lady Liston in ^ 

 letter that came to hand after mvich mangling - and 

 many fumigations and delays owing to precautions 

 against the plague, and yet plants from them grew 

 in the Glasgow Botanic Garden. He gives other 

 cases, and says : " So late as 1836, a curious instance 

 of this came under my observation. About half a 

 peck of a small sort of seed Avas taken out of a 

 coffin at Wymondham Abbey, which had been buried 

 there since the year 1100. Some of these seeds were 

 sent to the Glasgow Botanic Garden, and being 

 sown they came up and produced plants of . . , 

 the Red Valerian. It was customary to place certain 

 seeds, such as it, in coffins at that period, and 

 it had retained the powers of vegetation for 73(> 

 years." 



Besides these published works, Hopkirk drew up 

 a Description of the Barony Parish of Glasgow, 

 which contains many interesting local notes, some 

 of them bearing on Natural History. This book was 

 never published, and the manuscript is now in the 

 possession of James Duncan, Esq. of Benmore. 



