1 '2 I'ransactioHs. 



the rebellion of 1745. Mr J. M'Andrevv presented four speci- 

 mens of pai'melia, and a specimen of the dwarf birch (Betida 

 liana). Mr J. M'Lellan Arnott presented one of the hand-bills 

 which had been issued in 1820 offering a reward for the capture, 

 and a description, of the notorious criminal, David Haggart. 



Exhibits. — The Chairman exhibited two bottles of volcanic 

 dust collected on board ship, about 500 miles from the coast of 

 New Zealand, which had evidently been erupted during the 

 recent great volcanic disturbances in that island. Dr Grierson 

 also exhibited a specimen of the "Galloway Flail," and with it 

 for comparison an ordinary Hail. The Galloway flail had been 

 formerly used by the peasantry of the South of Scotland as a 

 weapon of war in "the killing times." The handle of the one 

 exhibited was made of ash and measured Ave feet, to which was 

 attached the " souple," or the iron portion of the flail, consisting 

 of three joints, each a foot in length. Dr Grierson remarked 

 that he could obtain very little information about this weapon 

 further than it was mentioned by the Rev. Mr Grierson of 

 Sanquhar, in his " Gleanings among tlie Mountains," as having 

 been used by the Covenanters, and that Sir Walter Scott, in 

 "The Talisman," described a military flail similar to this one. 



Communications. 



T. A Plant of Sphagnum. By Mr J. M'Andrew. 



In this paper the author described the structure and life 

 history of a plant of sphagnum, and remarked that no observant 

 person could walk through or alongside any bog or moss, such as 

 the Lochar Moss, without noting the variegated and beautiful tints 

 of the sphagnum, or peat mosses, fllling the pools, and concealing 

 often the treacherous depths. The order Sj^hagnaceai contains 

 only one genus, sphagmtm, with about 60 species, one-third of 

 which are tropical, and only 15 or 16 are British. Of the latter 

 the author has collected in the district of the Glenkens all the 

 species except S. Lindbergii, and all the varieties except *S'. Aciiti- 

 folium, var. gracile ; S. strictum, var. squarrosuluvi ; S. sqicar- 

 rostim, vars. laxum and imbricatnin ; S. intermediuiii, var. 

 pulchrum ; S. laricimim, var. 'plat}jj)hylhiw,; and iS'. tenelluvi, 

 var. longifolium. In conclusion Mr M'Andrew remarked that 

 the nature of the soil does not seem to have any efl'ect on 

 the number of species and varieties. A dry or a wet season. 



