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



there a gentle pool, reflecting as a silver mirror the colours of the marginal 

 vegetation — a thing of exquisite beauty — and ever and anon a black, deep 

 hole that almost induces a shudder as the eye catches the faint light glimmer- 

 ing from cavernous recess of horrid rock. Pushing upwards, we reach the 

 top, and here what a sight awaits ! Great masses of ancient peat, worn 

 into deep gullies by the storms of ages, almost bare of vegetation, black and 

 grim ; and lying beyond, Loch Enoch, with its shores of silver sand, and its 

 clear, sparkling water reflecting the adjacent mountains like a speculum. 



Loch Enoch is 1617 feet above sea level, and is the most elevated of a 

 series of unique alpine lochs situated in a singularly rugged mountain 

 district. It occupies a very wind-exposed position, which probably accounts 

 for the sand of its shores being finer than that of other loclis in the district. 

 Its outline is very irregular ; and there are several small islands, the largest 

 of which has upon it a small pool, hence the name Loch-in-loch, of which its 

 better-known name — Loch Enoch — is said to be a contraction. There are 

 several bays that have a shore of beautiful white sand produced from the 

 disintegrated syenitic granite of which these mountains are largely com- 

 posed. Nearly all the lochs of this district possess similar shores of white 

 sand, but that of Loch Enoch is finer than any other, and is prized above 

 all by shepherds, far and near, for the purpose of sharpening their scj^thes, 

 although those living in this district frequently use that from the nearest 

 loch for the same purpose. The scythe is used for the purpose of cutting 

 the uncultivated Molinia caerulea, called " bog-hay " or " blow-grass " of the 

 moors, for feeding the sheep and cattle during winter, the rough or boggy 

 nature of the ground excluding the use of the modern mowing-machine for 

 this purpose. To sharpen a scythe, a strip of wood about 18 inches long 

 by 3 inches wide is smeared with butter, which is then sprinkled with 

 sand, and used in a similar way to the ordinary whetstone. Others stick 

 the sand to the wood with glue ; the latter, however, has to be purchased, 

 whilst the former is a home product of no monetary value. 



The shores of Loch Enoch, with the exception of the sandy bays, are 

 rocky, and the water is exceptionally clear and sparkling, although slightly 

 peaty. The flora is very poor in species. On the west side Sparganium 

 natans is abundant in bays; there are also several small associations of 

 Carex rostrata in baj^s on the west and north sides. Isoetes lacustris, 

 Lobelia Dortmanna, and Littorella lacustris carpet the bottom in places. 

 Juncus fluitans is very abundant, whilst Myriophyllum alterniflorum is 

 scarce ; Batrachospermum vagum is abundant, and in some places the sub- 

 mersed rocks are thickly covered with Zygogonium ericetorum or Nardia 

 compressa. The littoral Phanerogams, besides those already mentioned, 



