238 Mr William Coats' Report on [sess. lii. 



station short of Oban, and after crossing the ferry we had 

 to drive 16 miles to Glenure. The road from Connal Ferry 

 is a heantiful one, skirtmg the shore of Loch Creran the 

 greater part of the way, and afterwards passing Fasnacloich 

 Loch, a very pretty sheet of water, a mile from Glenure. 



Glenure is a wild, very slightly wooded glen in the Appm 

 district of Argyleshire, lying almost at sea-level, and sur- 

 rounded on every side by high mountains, whose bare 

 summits are seldom without a covering of mist The name 

 signifies the glen of yew trees, and tradition has it that at 

 one time a large number of yews grew in the glen. This is 

 to a small extent borne out by the fact that, at present, a 

 fine old yew flourishes close to the house of ]\Ir Mackay, the 

 present tenant of Glenure sheep-farm, in whose house the 

 members of the camp had most comfortable quarters. 



Mr Mackay, who is now over sixty-five years of age, also 

 informed us that about forty years ago, w^hen there were 

 many more natives about Glens Ure and Creran than now, 

 the young men of that day took a mania for bagpipe play- 

 ing. To make their pipes they cut down the yew trees then 

 existing on the south-west side of An Grinan, near the head 

 of Glenure, each one taking as much wood as would make 

 two sets of pipes. This extravagance is accounted for by the 

 fact that the wood for the second set formed the payment or 

 part payment they made to a turner who lived at that time 

 near the glen, and made their pipes. But the times are 

 changed, and there are now neither many young men nor 

 yew trees in this wild district. 



That this must once have been a beautifully wooded glen 

 is evidenced by two facts — first, that the bleached stumps of 

 many large trees yet remain about tlie mountain sides; 

 second, there are to be seen in one or two places among the 

 hills what resemble the remains of forts, but what are in 

 reality the ruins of l)uildings or platforms formerly used for 

 converting the oak wood into charcoal, and must have been 

 built where plenty of wood was close at liand. This char- 

 coal was then conveyed to the iron furnaces at Bunaw on 

 Loch Etive. 



The following mountains were liotanised over very care- 

 fully, notwithstanding the fact that wet wcallier greatly pre- 

 vailed : — 



