EXCURSIONS IN STIRLINGSHIRE. 131 



1 1 feet 4 inches at 3 feet east. After leaving the estate a number 

 of the party visited the " Standing Stone of Carrick," a Roman 

 altar similar to others found in the country, but with neither 

 carving nor inscription. 



Stirling, so graphically described in the first volume of the 

 Annals (1893, pp. 66-70) of the Society, was visited on the 

 8th July, 1893. The company was unfortunate in the matter of 

 weather, as rain prevailed all afternoon. The Smith Institute, 

 with its valuable collection of historic relics and objects of natural 

 science, was first inspected, and afterwards the curator kindly 

 showed the party over his garden, which contained many fine 

 herbaceous plants, both native and foreign. In a downpour of 

 rain the way up the Back Walk was taken, and the circuit of the 

 Castle Rock was made. The list of plants observed is small 

 compared with what it might have been in more favourable 

 circumstances. Among the rarest were Alexanders (Smyrnium 

 Olusatrum), the small convolvulus {Convolvulus arvensis), the 

 deadly nightshade {Atropa Belladonna), the welted-thistle {Carduus 

 tenuiflorus), the lettuce {Lactuca virosa), the white dead-nettle 

 (Latnium album), the dyer's-weed {Reseda Luteola), the hemlock 

 {Conium maculatum), the Burnet saxifrage {Pimpinella Saxifraga), 

 the white mullein ( Verbascum Lychnitis), the glaucus rush {/uncus 

 glaucus), and the golden oat-grass {Trisetum flavescens). 



Stirling was again visited on the 7th August, 1897. From the 

 station the party proceeded by car to Causeyhead, and thence 

 skirted the base of Abbey Craig. A halt was made at the old 

 church of Blair Logie, a building erected in 1598, and now in ruins. 

 Nestling at the base of lofty cliffs it occupies a beautiful situation, 

 and, with a thick mantle of ivy covering its old walls, presents a 

 charming picture. Near the churchyard gate a luxuriant bed of 

 Good King Henry {Chenopodiun Bonus-Henricus) was seen. The 

 Sheriffmuir Road was taken from this point, and, after a moderate 

 walk, the summit of Dumyat was gained. The only plant worth 

 mentioning while crossing the moor, preceding the ascent, was 

 the rough marsh bedstraw {Galium uliginosum), which occurred 

 in great abundance. From the peak (1375 feet), a magnificent 

 view was obtained. For interest and extent the scene cannot be 

 surpassed, and will be hard to parallel in Scotland. The course 

 of the River Forth, with its serpentine windings and links, could 



