Jan. 1901.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 27 



Lightfoot does not appear to have met with it. He mentions 

 it in his " Flora Scotica," but in the appendix states that 

 the plant was Arundo (Fsamma) arenaria. "Walker, in his 

 " Economic History of the Hebrides," mentions Elyimis as 

 occurring in several parts of the north coast. He gives it 

 for the island of Pabbay, near Broadford, Skye, " where it 

 abounds most," and says that the " foliage when young is 

 eaten down to the very sand by the cattle." This has also 

 been the experience of a proprietor on this coast in recent 

 years, and is perhaps one of the causes of its rarity. 



During the eighteenth century, the milk cattle were 

 pastured in summer on the hills, and did not come to 

 the low ground ; the more able bodied of the inhabitants 

 living during this time in temporary habitations, termed 

 shielings, close to these pastures. Around these shielings 

 is now only the surrounding native vegetation, with the 

 exception of nettles and a few species which are found in 

 other shelters where sheep resort ; but when these shielings 

 were occupied, there must have been an introduction of 

 some of the more ubiquitous weeds which, as in the case of 

 deserted crofts, have since died out. As there was little if 

 any cultivation round these habitations, the introduced 

 weeds would be fewer than in the case of crofts. 



A considerable alteration in the flora of the hills must 

 have taken place since the introduction of south country 

 sheep. Previous to this very few sheep were kept, as they 

 had to be housed at night, owing to destruction by foxes 

 and eagles. Some goats, which were more able to withstand 

 these enemies, were kept, but the principal stock was cattle. 

 These were only on the upper parts of the hills in fine 

 weather in summer, and we read of the large amount of 

 herbage which was left uneaten. Consequently, grass and 

 sedges could freely seed, and little if any change in the 

 flora of the hills would take place. On the introduction of 

 large sheep farms all this was changed, as the number of 

 sheep admitted to the hills was only limited by the amount 

 of grass, and several of the rare species now confined to 

 narrow rocks and ledges would, when they had their natural 

 opportunities of seeding, have had a larger distribution. In 

 quite recent years the tendency has been to revert to the 

 former condition on many hills through the introduction of 



