i6o Optical Phenomenon seot in GlemiTC. [Sess. 



beautiful yew flourishes close to the house of Mr Mackay, the 

 present tenant of Glenure sheep-farm, and in whose house the 

 members of the camp had most comfortable quarters. Mr 

 Mackay, who is now over 65 years of age, also informed us 

 that about 40 years ago, when there were many more natives 

 about Glenure and Glen Creran — an adjacent glen — than 

 now, the young men of that day were seized with a mania for 

 bagpipe-playing. In order to make their pipes, they cut down 

 the yew-trees then existing, each one taking as much wood as 

 would make two sets of pipes. This extravagance is accounted 

 for by the fact that the wood for the second set formed the 

 payment, or part payment, they made to a turner who lived at 

 that time near the glen, and who made their pipes. Slowness 

 of growth and sombreness of foliage are the persistent 

 characteristics of the yew, and its extremely hard and 

 singularly close grain must have answered their purpose 

 admirably. But the times are changed, and there are now 

 neither young men nor yew-trees in this wild district. That 

 this must have been a beautifully wooded glen at one time is 

 evidenced by two facts — the first, that the bleached stumps of 

 many large trees yet remain about the mountain sides ; the 

 second, that there are to be seen in one or two places 

 among the hUls what resemble the remains of forts, but what 

 are in reality ruins of buildings formerly used for making 

 charcoal, which was afterwards taken to Bonaw and used in 

 smelting the minerals brought to the district for that purpose. 

 These buildings must have been erected where plenty of wood 

 was close at hand. 



On the morning of "Wednesday, the 3d August, our detach- 

 ment set out before 9 a.m. Dr Macfarlane and Mr Allan, 

 the other members present, started before us in an opposite 

 direction. Our intention was to botanise over Beinn Fhionn- 

 laidh, a mountain 3139 feet in height. This height we had 

 to climb, starting as we did from sea-level. There had been 

 rain during the night, the morning did not look very 

 promising, and mist covered the tops of the surrounding 

 mountains, but by eleven in the forenoon the day had improved 

 considerably. At the base of the mountain we separated, 

 and soon lost sight of one another, each taking a different 

 course in order to cover as mitch ground as possible, with 



