TRANSACTIONS, Ly 
III. Notes on the Flora of Wigtownshire. By Mr James 
M‘AnpDREw, N ew-Galloway. 
As an introduction to the following notes on the Flora of 
Wigtownshire, I shall say a few words descriptive of the county 
itself. Wigtownshire is rhomboidal in shape, of about 30 miles on 
each side, and is deeply indented by two large openings of the sea, 
Loch Ryan and Bay of Luce, thus affording a large extent of varied 
sea-board in proportion to the size of the county, and also render- 
ing the climate milder and more equable than it would otherwise 
be. For instance, fuchsias attaining the size of tall shrubs grow 
luxuriantly in shrubberies through the winter at such places as 
Logan House. 
The usual divisions of the county are the Aachars, the broad 
_ peninsula ending in Burrow Head ; the Moors, the northern part 
of the county; and the fehins, or western narrow peninsula. 
These three divisions are considerably different in character. 
At the head of Wigtown Bay, Bay of Luce, and Loch Ryan 
are extensive tidal sands, and in addition, at the head of Luce 
Bay, on the western side, are extensive wind-blown hillocks of 
sand bound together by Ammophila arenaria, &e., and on the moor 
of Genoch, making an excellent rabbit warren. The remainder of 
the coast line is generally irregular, and in some parts, as near 
Burrow Head and the Mull, it is rocky and precipitous, while in 
other parts, as about Port-William, the coast is shingly. Sandy 
bays occur occasionally. and in these are found the best sea shore 
plants. No county rises so little above the level of the sea as 
Wigtown, yet its surface is varied by many heights, which on the 
Ayrshire border are about 1000 feet high, while those scattered 
throughout the county are considerably under that elevation. One 
of the striking features of the county is the great number of fresh 
water lochs, and another is the ‘wide stretches of marshy, mossy, 
and boggy ground called “flows.” A great extent of the inland 
part of the Machars, and most of the Moors, is composed of this 
unprofitable kind of ground, still undrained. The most fertile 
districts are near the coast, as at Stranraer, Wigtown, Whithorn, 
Port-William, and the Rhins generally. The most prevalent rock 
is greywacke or whinstone of the silurian system, and the soil is 
generally thin, though barley, oats, wheat, beans; &c., are culti- 
_ vated on the richer ground. 
The Flora of Wigtownshire, from a botanical, physical, and 
territorial point of view, should have been included in that of 
