23 
and beauty. Rhododendrons form a principal part of the under- 
growth, and in their season of flowering must produce a rich and 
pleasing display, especially near the Moss House, where some of 
the finest hybrids have been introduced and are thriving well. 
Descending from the coign of vantage at the Moss House by 
a winding path to the bottom of the glen, a stately specimen of 
Norway spruce was measured, and the stem found to girth 
8 feet 8 inches at 5 feet up, the dendrometer indicating a height 
of 110 feet, and the branches having an average diameter of 
15 feet, from the ground right up to within less than 20 feet 
of the apex. Vigorous young specimens of conifers were seen 
on all sides, among which the beautiful silvery variety of Abzes 
nobilis was specially noticed, as being one of the most vigorous 
and fastest growers, and many of the specimens were bearing 
on their upper branches, with the characteristic precocity of the 
species, a heavy crop of the conspicuous cones. 
Crossing the Garden Burn by a rustic stone bridge, erected in 
place of another swept away by a heavy flood in September 1891, 
the walk was followed up the side of the South Esk, which is 
also spanned a little higher up by a substantial rustic stone 
bridge, giving access to Temple hamlet and its venerable parish 
kirk, rich in its memories of the Knights Templars of the Middle 
Ages. In passing along the bottom of the glen, it was noticed 
that a considerable area had been planted with rhododendrons 
within the past few years, and from the progress they had made, 
they would soon add a pleasing feature to the scene, with a rich 
display of flowers in their season. A fine specimen of the Douglas 
fir, thirty-five years old, was found to girth 7 feet 6 inches at 
5 feet up, and to be nearly 80 feet in height. Near the rustic 
bridge over the Esk was seen a beautiful specimen of the best 
variety of the copper beech. From that point up the glen, for 
nearly 200 yards, to the boundary of the policies at Temple 
bridge, was a striking plantation of conifers, consisting chiefly 
of arborvites and cypresses, among which predominated Thuja 
gigantea and Cupressus Lawsoniana, with lesser numbers of 
Abies Albertiana, A. nobilis, Pinus cembra, Thujopsis borealis, 
Wellingtonia gigantea, and several others, all healthy and thriv- 
ing, and exhibiting in a marked degree the erect fastigiate habit 
displayed by so many of the conifers in this glen. 
Turning to the left, and taking the walk along the brow of the 
valley, the party soon reached the Garden Glen, where, close to 
