100 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 



PART III.— THE LAKES. 

 I. — Area IV. 



We may begin the examination of the lochs of Area IV. (p. 65) at 

 Loch Doon ; from there we proceed to those lochs on the hills to the W. and 

 S.W. of Loch Doon ; thence by way of Lochs Dee, Trool, Grennoch, Whinyeon, 

 Ken, Lochinvar, etc. to Loch Dungeon, and finish our tour on the eastern 

 slopes of the Rhinns of Kells. 



Loch Doon is the largest sheet of fresh water in Scotland south of Loch 

 Lomond. It is 5^ miles long by 1 mile wide in the widest part ; tlie surface 

 is 673 feet above sea level, and the maximum depth is 100 feet, but generally 

 it is not over 50 feet deep. Its water is rather peaty, and its shores rocky 

 or stony, with an occasional sandy bay. Its surroundings are almost tree- 

 less, although fig. 1 appears to belie this statement ; at that place, however, 

 (Portmark) there are a few trees near a shepherd's house. Everj^where the 

 loch is surrounded by mountains and moors, the greater part of which are 

 covered by grass-like associations of plants. The population of the district 

 is extremely scanty ; the only houses are those of shepherds or small farmers, 

 and the total number of these will scarcely exceed a dozen throughout its 

 whole drainage area. The scenery, as may be gathered from the foregoing 

 remarks, is wild and lonely ; yet the broad outlines of the loch, flanked by 

 mountains picturesquely silhouetted, give it a grandeur peculiarly its own. 

 The shores and margins of this loch are, for the major part, entirely bare 

 of aquatic vegetation. Indeed, the erosive power of the waves on the rocky 

 margins allows no opportunity for the development of aquatic plants ; and 

 in the sandy bays that occur here and there, the same power, acting on the 

 shifting sand, prevents any considerable growth of vegetation even in such 

 places. Occasionally in pools situated on large rocks or in sheltered creeks 

 a few specimens of Carex Goodenovii or Phalaris arundinacea may be seen. 

 A few of the same species, with scattered specimens of Juncus lamprocarpus, 

 J. acutiflorus, and J. supinus, occur on wet sandy places ; and iDetween the 

 rocks, here and there, patches of Sphagnum cymbifolium or Fontinalis 

 antipyretica may be observed, but always in small quantity. Nor do the 

 littoral rocks bear any wealth of Bryophytes. Of the few that do occur, 

 Eurhynchium rusciforme, Bryum alpinum, Blinda acuta, Orthotrichum 

 rupestre, Grimmia apocarpa, Brachythecium rivulare, and Rhacomitrium 

 aciculare are the most common. On the whole, it may broadly be stated that 

 Loch Doon is destitute of either an aquatic or semi-aquatic marginal flora. 



