Tratisactions. 75 



29th Se])te7nber. — Bound two books. J. Hunter called. Went 

 to Thornhill and made an exchange of a box for a small set of 

 drawers with Hunter. Got a specimen of Aberdeenshire quartz 

 and of mica from him. 



8ih October. — Washed the minerals. Made 14 boxes for 

 minerals. 



9th October. — After dinner, fished with bait, and caught 14 

 par. Upon examining them I found two with very large melts, 

 of which I took a drawing. These two par were by no means 

 the largest. I could not detect any difference in them externally 

 from the others. Stuffed one of the par — a female one according 

 to Mr Shaw. 



10th October. — Put up a specimen of the melts of a par. Went 

 to the Rev. Mr Menzies' (Keir) ; dined and drank tea. He gave 

 me a specimen of the Rhamnus frangula (alder buckthorn), 

 which grows in the parish near to the farm of Penfillan, in a 

 marsh at the foot of the hills. I also got from him eight speci- 

 mens of orchideous plants which he collected in Switzerland. 

 He has a very fair collection of orchideous plants. He had not 

 heard of the viti-itied fort in Tynron. I was told that the glow- 

 worm was common in certain situations about Bellevue. 



11th October. — Put upon paper the eight specimens of plants I 

 got fi'om Menzies. Read over again Shaw's paper upon the par. 

 He states that (1) the eggs take 90 d;iys to liatch ; (2) remain 

 after being hatched 50 days under the gravel ; (3) and during 

 the next season form the May or summer par; (4) that the 

 second season it assumes the silvery scales, and constitutes the 

 salmon fry when it migrates to the sea. 



lotli October. — Read Cyclopaedia — article, " Paper Making.'' 

 Collected a quantity of sludge left by the drying-up of some 

 stagnant water. It had become bleached, having entirely lost its 

 green colour. Its fibres resemble those of cotton. It imbibes 

 water freely, and becomes rather pulpy. It appears to me that 

 this substance might be applied to the making of paper, or some 

 similar use. I have picked some of it, and by floating it in water 

 and collecting it upon a wire sieve, and removing it therefrom to 

 folds of flannel and subjecting them to tlie pressure of a strong 

 screw press, I procured a tolerable pajjer, which was improved by 

 the addition of isinglass. The sludge may be pi'ocured in gieat 



