TRANSACTIONS. 35 
Parishes from the Kirkeudbright Museum, viz. : Borgue, Buittle, 
Dalbeattie, Dalry, Girthon, Kelton, Kirkeudbright, Kirkmabreck, 
Kirkbean, N ewabbey, Parton, Rerwick, Terregles, Troqueer, 
Twynholm, and Urr. 
COMMUNICATIONS. 
I. Botanical Notes Jor 1887. By Mr James FIncuanp of 
Thornhill. 
The season of 1887 will be remembered for its ideal summer 
weather, which, for at least the months of June and July, was an 
almost unbroken record of sunshine and genuine warmth. This 
hot weather, although favourable and enjoyable for outdoor botani- 
cal work, was fatiguing for long excursions on foot, whilst a certain 
drawback was experienced in the shorter time plants remained in 
bloom. The rather unfavourable character, too, of the early 
autumn caused an unusually fine season to be also a short one 
from a field botanist’s point of view. 
A notable feature of 1887 was the early flowering of many 
plants, which I more especially observed amongst aquatics. The 
intermediate form of the yellow water lily, which occurs in 
Glencairn, was gathered in flower on the 12th of July last. In 
1885 it was seen in flower on the 28th of August—perhaps, 
however, at a later stage, for which a few days might be deducted ; 
nevertheless, making a marked difference of nearly six weeks 
between the two dates. The water lobelia at Loch Urr I obtained 
in flower on the 20th of J uly last, which was just a month earlier 
than in the previous year. Some of the Potamogetons or pond- 
weeds, I am sure, came very much earlier too, but I have no 
previous dates to compare with. It has occurred to me that the 
flowering of aquatics might more fairly indicate the character of a 
Season in regard to temperature, these plants not being affected by 
drought, which so often hastens the maturing of terrestial vegeta- 
tion by stunting the growth, were it not that aquatics probably 
derive a stimulus and benefit from direct sunshine whether the 
atmospheric temperature is of an average warmth or not. The 
amount of solar heat absorbed by a lake will vary with its depth 
or shallowness. Other affecting circumstances will be found in its 
physical surroundings, situation, or exposure. The matter may 
appear to be unimportant. It is not 8o, however, to a collector 
who wishes to secure specimens valuable for exchange from a 
locality at some distance, Disappointment may be thus saved by 
