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This part of the island is separated from the district near Islay House 

 by a lofty range of hills, some of them attaining an elevation of 1500 

 or 2000 feet, and composed chiefly of quartz rock. We ascended 

 one of them called Ben Vigors, or Ben Bhiggars, and found it by no 

 means productive. The princiijal plants collected were Gnaphalium 

 dioicum, Lycopodium Selago, Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi, Carex rigida, 

 Armeria maritima var. alptna, Juniperus communis var. nana. The 

 occurrence of Arctostaphylos would probably indicate an elevation of 

 at least 2000 feet, corresponding with the sub-alpine region of Mr. 

 Watson. On reaching the summit of the hill we were involved in mist 

 and rain, and the guide who accompanied us lost his way, and after 

 wandering for an hour or two landed us in the valley whence we had 

 ascended. Fortunately he knew the direction which our place of des- 

 tination bore to the valley and accordingly we followed our compass 

 and crossed the hills in a very thick mist, amidst the fears and doubts 

 of our guide as to the correctness of our procedure. Our anxiety as 

 to the result of our exploration made us forget all the discomfort of a 

 thorough drenching, and one of the party who had been complaining 

 sadly of fatigue now walked on most manfully. After reaching the 

 summit of the range of hills (probably the summit of Gloan Leor), we 

 descended, not without doubts as to the result. At this time a slight 

 clearance took place in the mist, and we descried some green patches 

 of verdure which seemed to indicate a limestone district. We knew 

 that this was the geological nature of the district which we wished to 

 reach, and our hopes of extrication from our difficulties brightened 

 considerably. We now proceeded on our descent with increased vi- 

 gour and alacrity, and reached AUaladh, where some oat-cakes and 

 milk from one of the cottagers were most thankfully received, and ere 

 long we had the pleasure of finding ourselves at Catladale, where a 

 conveyance was waiting to convey us to Ealabus. This adventure 

 shows, in a certain degree, the importance of knowing the geology of 

 a district and the kind of vegetation which is connected with particu- 

 lar rocks. The limestone district to which I have alluded is extensive. 

 It crosses from Laggan to Ardmore point and extends to the north- 

 east of Islay House. In some places the water has hollowed out a 

 passage for itself through the rocks, and in one instance we observed 

 the rivulet disappear under ground for several hundred feet. Near 

 Catladale the ruins of a fort are seen, called Nose-bridge fort. 



To be continued. 



