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



dreary, boggy moor many miles in extent. The last-mentioned loch is, 

 indeed, upon the same moor, but at its outskirts, where the ground is less 

 boggy, whilst there the scenery is enlivened eastwards by the adjacent area 

 of cultivation. An old resident informed me that during his life the view 

 of the county beyond the moor {i.e. looking from Anabaglish southwards) 

 had been considerably curtailed, owing to the gradual elevation of the 

 intervening moss.* Exact measurements of such development over a long 

 period would not be without interest. 



This loch is 4 miles south-Avest of Kirkcowan, and is a somewhat circular 

 pool, 200 yards across. There is no shore, the water being surrounded bj^ 

 deep bog, differing only from the moor in being more ready to engulf the 

 unwary. I succeeded in getting within a few feet of the water, and was 

 surprised to find it was beautifully clear, and apparently not peaty. 

 Another interesting fact was the presence of an association of Tj^pha 

 latifolia, a plant usually associated with the evil-smelling mud of lowland 

 lakes rather than with that of a lochan in the midst of a peat moor. Other 

 uncommon members of the marginal flora were Cladium Mariscus and 

 Hypericum elodes, while the more usual species, such as Carex rostrata, 

 Juncus effusus, J. bufonius, Menyanthes trifoliata, Narthecium ossifragum, 

 Eriophoruin polystachion, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, etc., formed the bulk of 

 the phanerogamic vegetation. The following Bryophytes were also 

 abundant : — Sphagnum cuspidatum, var. falcatum, S. cymbifolium, S. 

 subsecundum, Polytrichum commune, Aulacomnium palustre, Hypnum 

 Schreberi, H. cupressiforme, var. ericetorum, Cephalozia Sphagni, etc. On 

 the drier parts of the bog Calluna and Myrica have spread from the adjacent 

 moor, where Cladonia uncialis occurs in extraordinary abundance. I was 

 not able to discover what plants, if any, grew in the water. 



Fell Loch is larger than Wayoch, and | mile south-east of it. The 

 water is peaty, and the bottom is of peat. The chief plants are Lobelia 

 Dortmanna, Castalia speciosa, Potamogeton polygonifolius, Juncus fluitans, 

 Heleocharis multicaulis, Cladium Mariscus, Carex rostrata, Phragmites 

 communis, Equisetum limosum, Menyanthes trifoliata, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, 

 etc. 



Black Loch is close to the last mentioned, and similar to it, but the 

 water is not so peaty, and there is less vegetation. Cladium Mariscus and 

 Carex filiformis are abundant, as well as other commoner plants. 



Mochrum Loch is h mile south of the last mentioned, but is much 

 larger, being about li miles long by X mile broad, and the elevation 

 above sea level is 248 feet. This loch is very shallow, the average depth 

 * A ^vet moor, with much Sphagnum, etc., ii? frequently called a moss. 



