X. TOPOGRAPHY — THE HABITAT. 



mended as the best examples of lower wood glens, but almost every 

 burn has a beauty of its own from one end of the dale to the other. 

 The western watershed begins with Criffel, over 1800 feet high, but its 

 continuation is insignificant until the sources of Scaur, Kello, and 

 Euchan. Queensberry (2285 feet) is the most conspicuous point of 

 the eastern watershed. Annandale and the Caledonian line is a natural 

 road of the same kind. Moffat is perhaps the best botanical centre in 

 the County, as from it all the characteristic habitats of the district can 

 be easily reached. 



These include the Beld Craig Linn and Garpol, both typical wood- 

 glens, and the beautiful corries of Black's Hope and Grey Mare's Tail, 

 above which are the highest elevations in the county. 



Eskdale, between Langholm and Canobie Bridge, is the most beauti- 

 ful wooded valley that the writer has seen in any part of the world. 

 Higher up in the Eskdalemuirs, the scenery is desolate and wild in the 

 extreme. Meikledale is an interesting corrie, not unlike those on Moffat 

 water, but such ravines are rare in this valley. 



Originally the County probably consisted of deciduous forest, 

 broken along the river sides by stretches of marshy soil or peat moss. 

 I believe this forest probably continued from nearly sea level to about 

 800 feet, from which level to that of the present peat haggs there may 

 have been, either after a belt of conifers or throughout, rough grass and 

 heather. The succession found in most parts of the world of 

 deciduous forest, conifers, and heather or moss may be traced there- 

 fore without much difficulty. Arable land now replaces the deciduous 

 forest, which still persists along the rivers and burns up to 2200 feet. 



The hill farms and permanent pasture represent probably what was 

 once rough grass and heather, but man has not yet been able to bring 

 the peat-haggs into cultivation. These are laid down in a capping of 

 peat some ten to twelve feet thick, though varying enormously in depth 

 over all the higher hills in Dumfriesshire. Peat-mosses are found at all 

 elevations, from the Solway to that of Loch Skene and higher, but I 

 can find nowhere a satisfactory explanation of this formation. 



I must refer the reader to the map for the source and tributaries of 

 the three great rivers, Nith, Annan, and Esk, as the impression of these 

 three large valleys is by far the most valuable for all practical purposes. 



THE HABITAT. 



It was chiefly on account of the great importance, to my mind, of a 

 study of the suitability of plants to their habitat, climate, environment, 

 milieu or monde auibiant (for all these terms really express the same 

 thing), that I undertook this Flora. I soon found that in this country 

 it was not possible to obtain a very clear idea of those tendencies to 



