1914-15.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 345 



The Flora of the Culbin Sands. By Donald Patton, 

 M.A., B.Sc.. and E. J. A. Stewart, M.A., B.Sc. 

 (Six maps, two figures, and Plate LVII.) 



(Read 9th April 191,. 



The Culbin Sands, the flora of which is described in the 

 following paper, lie on the extreme west of the seaboard 

 of Elginshire. They occupy the greater part of the pro- 

 montory between the Moray Firth and the western shore 

 of Findhorn Bay, and they stretch for upwards of six 

 miles along the coast and have a maximum breadth of 

 three miles. To the south lie the fertile reaches of the 

 River Findhorn and the Muckle Water, while on the west 

 the Culbin Sands, here known as the Maviston Sandhills, 

 which enter some short distance into Nairnshire, are suc- 

 ceeded by flat heath and marsh. 



History. 



It appears that at least a part of the area now included 

 in the " Sands " was formerly within the great fertile plain 

 which occupies the " province " of Moray between the hills 

 to the south and the sea to the north. The estate of 

 Culbin was, indeed, so productive that it was known as 

 the " Granary or Garden of Moray." The farm-lands just 

 beyond the belt of woodland which bounds the sands on 

 the landward side yield crops of wheat which are among 

 the heaviest per acre in the British Isles. Local tradition 

 ascribes a sudden origin for the modern condition of the 

 Culbins. The story 1 is that in 1694 Culbin estate was 

 overwhelmed by immense masses of sand, driven by a 

 strong west wind from the shores of the Moray Firth. 

 Such was the fury of the storm that in a few days from 

 its commencement every vestige of houses and fields was 

 obliterated. The ruined proprietor successfully petitioned 

 the Scots Parliament for relief of land-tax. Further, an 

 Act was passed prohibiting for all time under severe 

 penalties the pulling of bent, juniper, or broom, to which 

 cause the sand-drift was expressly attributed. Other 

 1 Bain, The River Findhorn, pp. 226-228. 



TRAXS. BOT. SOC. EELS. VOL. XXVI. 25 



