294 



Mr. Noble and Mr. King, the superintendents, and everything was 

 done to promote our comfort. The country around the lighthouse is 

 bare and rocky, and produces no plants of any interest. The Mull is 

 well described by MaccuUoch as a rude hilly tract, without beauty, 

 even on its sea-shores. The only interest is connected with the caves 

 in the rocks to which I have alluded. In the interior of the district 

 little is to be seen, and it is chiefly on the shores that a botanist or 

 geologist finds materials for research. At the point of the Mull the 

 tides flow with rapidity and turbulence, and it is by no means plea- 

 sant for one who is unpractised in a sea-voyage, to beat round the 

 headland in a boat. 



On the morning of the 13th we examined the peculiarly rugged and 

 precipitous rocks near the lighthouse, some of them rising to several 

 hundred feet above the level of the sea. Sedum Rhodiola was seen 

 in abundance, but no other plants deserving notice. After breakfast 

 we walked along the upper part of the cliffs towards Largybean, where 

 fine caves and stalactites occur. The rocks, composed principally of 

 micaceous slate, were comparatively unproductive, and it was chiefly 

 in those parts where limestone occurred, that our researches were re- 

 warded by plants in any way rare. One of the most interesting plants 

 was Dryas octopetala,* associated with Saxifraga aizoides, oppositifo- 

 lia and hypnoides, Spergula subulata, and a hairy variety of Hiera- 

 cium sylvaticum. The day was very wet and misty, and not favoura- 

 ble for botanical pursuits. Nevertheless, we examined the rocks 

 carefully, and reached Sossit, after being joined by the Southend 

 party, about 3, p. m., and were kindly received at Mr. M'Neill's. We 

 visited his garden, and saw a sjjecies of passion-flower in full bloom, 

 which stands the winter well, also hydrangeas attaining an enormous 

 size and covered with a profusion of flowers, besides Fuchsias, pelar- 

 goniums, Salvia pratensis, &c. Passing through the fishing village near 

 Sossit house, we made the best of our way to our old quarters at 

 Campbelton, traversing a flat country, in some parts furnishing coal, 

 which is conveyed by means of a canal to the eastern shore of Cantyre. 

 On either side of the flat heath which extends from Machrihanish bay 

 to Campbelton, there is a hilly, moorish district, which has not yet 

 been brought into cultivation. 



Lint (Linum usitatissimum ) is commonly cultivated in this dis- 

 trict of Scotland, and in all the fields w^e observed abundance of 



* This plant is often found on limestone rocks not far from the sea-level, as at 

 Ossynt in Sutherlandshire. 



