86 NATURAL History NOTES FROM ANNANDALE. 
During the summer of 1906 I examined one nest of the grey 
wagtail on the Annan. I mention this not because the bird is 
quite rare, for it cannot be said to be so, but because it is rather 
local in its. distribution, and the Annan seems to be one of its 
favourite haunts. 
It is rather curious to note that while numbers of the garden 
warbler came to the woods on the river-side in the.vicinity of 
the town of Annan in 1905, and two nests of the species came 
under my own notice in that season, this migrant did not put in an 
appearance at all in 1906. Whether this is to be accounted for 
by the nature of the season or not, I am unable to say. In 1905 
we had a very fine summer, while the summer of 1906, especially 
the earlier part of it, when the birds were on migration, was 
decidedly under the average in warmth. 
15th February, 1907. 
Chairman—Mr JAMEs Barzour, V.P. 
AMONG THE YORKSHIRE ABBEYS. By Ex-Provost Davip 
Hatuipay, Lockerbie. 
At the outset the lecturer spoke of the numerous ruins and 
charms of Yorkshire, and commenced his description of several 
of the Yorkshire Abbeys with Fountains Abbey. To him, he 
said, there was always something very fascinating in ruins of any 
kind, particularly in those of an Abbey, and he felt inclined to 
quote the words of Byron :— 
‘‘The lore 
Of mighty minds doth hallow in the core 
Of human hearts, the ruin of a wall 
Where dwelt the wise and wondrous.’’ 
Fountains Abbey is situated within the beautiful grounds of 
Studley Royal, the property of the Marquis of Ripon, not far 
from the cathedral town of Ripon. Like most of the Abbeys of 
Yorkshire, Fountains dates from the first half of the twelfth 
century, when some monks, who were disgusted at the irregu- 
larities and the laxity of discipline of St. Mary’s, at York, under 
the weak rule of Geoffrey, the third Abbot, headed by the Prior 
