Il6 Antiquities, &c., of Cramond District. [Sess. 



as " The Three Sisters." These cliffs are frequented by kestrels, 

 jackdaws, rockdoves, and various other species of birds. Where 

 wooded, they afford a place of growth for millions of hart's- 

 tongue (Scolopendrmm vulgare) and other ferns. The Osmunda 

 regalis, or royal fern, once occurred abundantly in marshy 

 places along the foot of the bank, but has now been extir- 

 pated. In the neighbourhood of Ardneil Bank are found the 

 agrimony (Agrivionia Eupatoria), bur chervil {Anthriscus xul- 

 garis), wall pennywort {Cotyledon Umbilimis), lesser water 

 plantain (Alisma raimnmloides), hay - scented buckler - fern 

 i^Lastrcea ceimda), &c. 



Between Ardneil Bank and Fairlie stretches Hunterston 

 Bay, where hundreds of acres of muddy sand, covered with 

 the greater and smaller grass-wracks [Zostera marina and 

 Z. nana), are exposed at low water. These extensive flats 

 are frequented by flocks of wild geese and other sea-birds, 

 while the zostera-beds afford some interesting algae peculiar 

 to such places. In the neighbourhood of Fairlie are the 

 estates and mansions of Southannan, formerly possessed by 

 the Lords Sempill, and Kelburne, the residence of the Earl 

 of Glasgow. Fairlie, with its old castle and pretty glen, 

 lies mainly within the parish of Largs. The district around 

 Largs, and northward to the county boundary at Kelly Burn, 

 presents many features of considerable interest, but these 

 cannot be adequately noticed within the scope of the present 

 paper. 



XI.— SOME NOTES ON TEE ANTIQUITIES AND 

 NATURAL HISTORY OF CRAMOND DISTRICT. 



By Mr BRUCE CAMPBELL. 



{Read April 27, 1904.) 



At our excursion to Cramond Island in June last year some 

 of our members suggested that a paper on the Natural History, 

 &c., of the district might prove interesting, and that I, a native, 

 and a resident for a good many years, might collect a few 



