8 On Words. 



Barglass. Excursionists from Glasgow found Isoetes lacustris, 

 Linn., in Loch Ochiltree. 



Mosses and Hepaticoi. — Chiefly through the kindness of Mr 

 James Murray, Hamilton, and formerly of Dumfries, I have 

 been able to add a few more mosses to my local list. Those 

 gathered by Mr Murray are Bryum pendulum, Cluden Mills ; 

 Rhynchostegium murale, Irongray and Drumlanrig ; Fissidens 

 exilis, Drumlanrig ; Racomitrium protensum, Loch Trool, and 

 abundant in the Glenkens ; Hyjmum aduncum, sparingly by the 

 side of Loch Ken ; Orthothecium intricatum, very rare in Holme 

 Glen, New-Galloway ; Hypnum moUuscum, var. condensatum, 

 Crummypark Bum, New-Galloway. To these I have myself 

 added Racomitrium aciculare, var. denticulatum, side of Loch 

 Ken ; Orlhotrichurn qffiiie, var. rivale, Kenmure Holms, New- 

 Galloway ; 7 huidium recognitum, abundant in the Glenkens and 

 also in Screel Burn. I have also gathered Hypnum Schreberi 

 in fruit (which is very rare) in Crummypark Glen, and I find 

 Hypnum eugyrium in fruit frequently in the district. At Port- 

 patrick I gathered the Hepatic Lophozia bicrenata. 



2. On Word.-i. By Mr A. Skirving, Croys. 



To go deep into the history of words would involve the writing 

 of a book on the origin of language, and for such a task I am 

 unfit. For untutored savages few words are necessary, words 

 increasing with the wants they are required to express. I only 

 aim at pointing out that languages we think foreign are not so 

 foreign after all, and the differences of the languages of nations 

 are often not much greater than the provincial differences of the 

 language of the same country. At the root of the difliculty that 

 is experienced in learning a kindred tongue lies the overlooking 

 of the interchangeable letters, some nations preferring the one 

 and othei's the other. Thus I enterchanges with J, so tlie 

 German says lohann when the Englishman says John. B inter- 

 changes with V, so the German says hab and the Englishman 

 have. F interchanges with P, so the German says schiff and the 

 Englishman ship. G interchanges with Y, so the German says 

 sag and the Englishman say. D interchanges with Th, so the 

 German says heide and the Englishman heath. Then the 

 guttural is a difficulty to the Englishman, so for buch he says 

 book and for mack make. In each of these cases scores of woids 



