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



Loch Ken is one of the largest lochs in this part of Scotland, being only 

 exceeded in size by Loch Doon. It is 142 feet above sea level, and has 

 a maximum depth of 62 feet. The loch proper is generallj^ considered to lie 

 between the grounds of Kenmure Castle and the Boat-of-Rhone railway 

 viaduct ; this portion is 4i miles long by i mile wide in the widest part. 

 The River Dee joins the loch a little below the viaduct, and thence the 

 combined waters are continued as a narrow lake, in some places, however, 

 I mile wide, considerably to the south of Crossmichael. This lake-like 

 portion extends the loch a further distance of over 4 miles, and is usually 

 recoo-nised as a part of the River Dee, although to the uninitiated it 

 belongs to Loch Ken, and must be considered so from a botanical point of 

 view. This sheet of water is thus about 8f miles long : it varies in width 

 from 100 yards to 4 mile, and has a drainage area of nearly 300 square 

 miles. Like Woodhall Loch, Loch Ken presents a mixture of the highland 

 and lowland types, not only in its flora and physical conditions, but also in 

 scenic effect, as a comparison of figs. 31 to 40 readily shows. Endowed with 

 charming and picturesque surroundings, which are further enriched by 

 interesting historical associations, it seems strange that this inviting country 

 should attract so small a flow of tourists. In many places the shore 

 consists of stones and rocks, which are usually angular or but slightly 

 waterworn and aflbrd support to a very scanty flora ; a narrow strip of such 

 shore usually passes at once into moor, meadow, or wood (figs. 33, 36, 37). 

 In other places the loch is bordered by bog, which makes it diflicult to 

 distingui; h any line of demarcation between land and water (fig. 35). 

 More rarely, the shore may be sandy, or the water may be bordered b}' a 

 bank without the intervention of a shore. In that portion of the loch 

 above the railway viaduct vegetation seldom occurs at a greater depth than 

 6 or 7 feet ; beyond that depth, clay, mud, or vegetable detritus covers the 

 bottom, to the exclusion of liWng plants. In the lower portion, about 

 Parton and Crossmichael, there is in places a bottom flora down to a depth 

 of 12 feet. This fact is accounted for by the gTeat body of peaty water 

 from the River Dee scouring the bottom, and washinof the vegetable detritus 

 either down stream or into deeper places. 



Near the head of the loch the slight peatiness of the clear water is 

 somewhat modified by the drainage received from the villages and culti- 

 vated areas through which the Water of Ken flows, and at that part the 

 variety and luxuriance of the marsh vegetation affords evidence of a greater 

 abundance of food-salts than is usual in peaty lochs. It is also interesting 

 to note that Isoetes lacustris, a plant very impatient of water rich in 

 normal plant food-salts, was not found nearer the head of the loch than the 



