A ddress of the President. _ 23 



but in most parts can be walked round below on the recess of 

 the tide. On the most inacessible parts various sea-fowl 

 breed, and at one promontory a colony of cormorants {Phala- 

 cracorax carlo, Linn.) had not yet carried off all their young. 

 The raven and peregrine falcon used to have their eyries here, 

 and it was also a breeding-station for the red-legged crow 

 ( Pyrrhocorax graculus) ; none of the latter were seen during the 

 excursion, and it was said they had been driven from their 

 haunts by the jackdaws which nest in numbers in the fissures 

 of the rocks, and among the ivy and yew which in many parts 

 cover them. 



The Botany of this coast is very rich and varied ; Shakspere's 

 samphire, Orithmum maritimum, so local in Scotland, is abun- 

 dant on aU the cliffs, and in their caves grew Aspleniurti 

 marinum equally plentiful. The following plants were also 

 observed: — Carum verticUlatum; Habenaria viriclis ; Are- 

 naria verna and rvhra ; Pamassia palustris, common; Drossera 

 anglica and rotundifolia (D. longifolia grows in several locali- 

 ties, such as Auchensceoch Loch, but was not observed now). 

 Helianthemum vulgare ; TriglocMn palustre and maritimum ; 

 Hypericum, elodes ; Carex extensa, salt flats, not common ; 

 G. fiava ; distans ; Carlina vulgaris ; Raphanus maritimus, 

 rare ; Aster trifolium ; Scutellaria galericulata ; Malva mos- 

 chata, plentiful ; Astragalus glyciphyllu^ ; Ulex namis, in 

 flower ; RvJms ccesius. 



The excursion for September had been arranged to meet at 

 Cargen, to examine the fine mineralogical collection there, and 

 to explore the Mabie hills and woods ; but a severe domestic 

 afiliction in Mr. Dudgeon's family prevented the meeting. 



The October meeting, the last of the summer excur- 

 sions, took place on Tuesday the Gth, in Annandale. I had 

 the honour of meeting the Society on that day, and con- 

 ducting them over a district familiar to me, but even 



