192 FieLD MEETINGS. 
extent as to submerge it and to chill the eggs. The same cause 
has played havoc with the young of game birds. Those of the 
pheasant in particular have been largely drowned out; and Mr 
Gladstone mentioned that he had lately seen eight hens, only 
one of which had a brood—and that brood consisted of a soli- 
tary bird. | Woodcocks, it was stated, are nesting in increasing 
numbers in the district. Roe deer frequent the wooded heights, 
and one was observed crossing the fields, alarmed no doubt by 
the invasion of its sanctuary. Picturesque animals though they 
are, their destruction of crops and trees turns the hand of both 
landlord and farmer against them. An occasional white hare is 
met with in the district—not the blue hare of the north, which 
assumes a white coat in winter, but white specimens of the ordi- 
nary brown hare—and two of them at present have their home 
on Capenoch. At the farm are several young specimens of the 
wild grey goose—the Grey Lag—brought by Mr Gladstone from 
the Outer Orkneys. 
“The Picts’ Cairn,’? which was passed on the way to the 
loch, is a little hill almost perfectly round in form, and with flat 
summit. On one face is a mass of large and more or less loose 
stones; but these appear to be fragments detached from the 
native rock, rather than any artificial accumulation. It is a 
spot which would certainly form a very good natural stronghold, 
but nothing was seen to explain the origin of the name which it 
locally bears. From this elevated spot an extensive view is 
obtained over the valley, through which flow the streams of Nith 
and Scar, and away to the background of massive hills domi- 
nated on the one hand by the Green Lowther, on the other by 
Queensberry. Capenoch, situated on a most pleasant spot near 
the base of the hill, is a stately modern mansion, built of a light 
reddish sandstone, but incorporating part of an old baronial 
tower two centuries old and with walls seven feet thick. The 
Scar borders the policies and gardens, and near to the sawmill 
its waters tumble over a mass of broken rock with effects turbu- 
lent and picturesque. The more placid Shinnel flows through 
the policies, a bridge carrying the avenue across it just before 
it loses itself in the larger stream. The grounds are plentifully 
studded with handsome trees, oaks and other native species, and 
there is a nice selection of more recently planted conifers. A 
beech tree presents a singular feature, and was the subject of 
