1909-10.] Flora of Scottish Lakes. 109 



are extremely scanty, there being merely a few plants of common species 

 here and there. Amongst numerous Bryophytes that were abundant on the 

 littoral the following may be mentioned : — Mnium hornum, Trichostomum 

 tortuosum, Rhacomitrium gracilescens, Jungermannia ventricosa, J. Floerkii, 

 Anthelia julacea, Nardia emarginata, N. compressa, Pellia epiphylla, Diplo- 

 phyllum albicans, Hypnum scorpioides, etc. Figs. 5 and 6 represent this 

 loch, with the adjacent mountains Merrick and Mullwharchar. 



Loch Neldricken. — Proceeding a few hundreds of yards to the south- 

 east of Loch Enoch, one comes to a narrow rido'e of ruo'o^ed rock connectinof 

 Dungeon Hill with Craignaw (fig. 9). From this spot, called the Nick of 

 the Dungeon, an excellent bird's-eye view is obtained of Lochs Neldricken 

 and Valley (fig. 7). These lochs are similar in general features to Loch 

 Enoch, — they liave clear, brilliant, slightly peaty water, white sand}^ baj's, 

 shores otherwise rocky, and very irregular outlines. The vegetation is also 

 similar, and usually scanty. Loch Neldricken differs from Loch Enoch bj' 

 having considerable associations of Equisetum limosum, more Myriophyllum 

 alterniflorum, and a few specimens of Glyceria fluitans. On the N.W. side 

 there is a very regularly shaped "murder-hole" {ante, p. 1014, figs. 84 and 

 109), formed in a somewhat circular bay or arm of the loch, the shallow 

 margin of which affords a suitable situation for sedge-like plants. The 

 bottom, I presume, sinks suddenly and regularly like a basin, at some distance 

 from the shove, to a greater depth tlian these plants can accommodate them- 

 selves to ; consequently they end abruptly, and present an even circular 

 outline at the place where the water is too deep for further advance (fig. 8). 

 The plants surrounding this " murder-hole " are in three well-marked zones 

 as follows : — Adjoining the shore, Carex rostrata, then a zone of Equisetum 

 limosum, followed by a narrow zone of a plant which, from distant examina- 

 tion with a telescope, was apparently a large form of Carex rostrata, but 

 as specimens could not be obtained, it was impossible to exactly identify 

 the species. Beyond those enumerated, the marginal Phanerogams are very 

 sparse. In many places the sandy shores are covered with patches of 

 Nardia scalaris and Anthelia julacea, and the littoral rocks also are fre- 

 quently overgrown with Bryophytes common to the district. Fig. 9 gives 

 a representation of a portion of this fine loch from the south shore. 



Loch Valley, as already indicated, is adjacent to the last mentioned 

 and receives its outfall. The phj^sical and botanical features are similar 

 to those of the adjacent lochs already described, but it has in addition 

 Carex filiformis and Menyanthes trifoliata. There are several associations 

 of Carex rostrata, and Hypnum fluitans is very abundant on a boggy 

 portion of the shore, whilst Anthelia julacea and Pleurozia cochleariformis 



