Transa(,!tions. 9 



(from the Peabocly Museum, Harvard University) ; two botanical 

 specimens by Mr J. T. Johnstone, of Moffat, Hirmola auricula 

 (Jew's ear) ; it is uncommon, and observed growing on one tree at 

 Lochwood and nowhere else ; also a specimen of Tremellodon 

 f/elatinosiun, one of the rare fungi gathered by the Cryptogamic 

 Society during their visit to Moffat in September, 1893. It seems 

 to be general in the district ; but as yet Dumfriesshire is the only 

 county in Scotland in which it has been found. 



Exhibits. — Mr Starke exhibited some fine specimens of 

 Spanish horse chestnuts grown on his park at Troqueer Holm. 

 Mr James Barbour exhibited a weird stone found in a wall at 

 Dalruscan. 



Communications. 



1. — JVbft; on the Inscription on the Nim^s Slab in Diuidrennan 

 Abbey. By Mr Robert Brydall, Glasgow. 



Wliile visiting- the Abbey of Dundrennan last summer, I took 

 the opportunity of comparing- an illustrated note iu the 1863-8 

 volume of the Proceedings of the Dumfries and Galloway Natural 

 History and Antiquarian Society with the Nun's Slab, and noticed 

 that the present arrangement of the parts of the stone gives a 

 different reading, with a local suggestion. 



According to the old arrangement, as given in the above note, 

 the lettei's which were then legible read: — " hie jacet .... 

 chea . . V si . . . domina pr . '. uondam . . biit 

 ano d MCGCOXL," which was supposed to read at length " liic 

 jacet domina blanchea virgo sit domina prisressa quondam obiit 

 ano domini 1440." 



Since that time the lower part of the slab has been fractured, 

 Ijut is still complete ; a small portion centaining the letters " v si " 

 has disappeared ; the part with the letters "uondam" has been 

 placed to the left of the nun ; and the part with the letters which 

 were then read as "chea" to her right. The last four letters 

 read quite as readily "cher," and taking the present arrangement, 



which seems the correct one, we get " hie jacet 



uondam . . domina orcher .... lit ano d MCCCCXL." 

 The " or" in this formerly read as " pr," but as there is no sign of 

 it ever having- read otherwise than as " or " we clearly get a hint 



