516 



were furnished by Dr. F. Douglas, who, after describing the ramble 

 on the banks of Tweed, states that — 



" During the walk, nothing new was observed. Several plants, however, were no- 

 ticed which are of rare occurrence within the limits of the club, such as Viola hirta, 

 Thalictrum majus, Clinopodium vulgare, Epipactis latifolia, Listera cordata ; and Dr. 

 F. Douglas pointed out the habitat of a beautiful coral-like fungus — Clavaria rosea 

 — which has not been discovered in any other locality in Great Britain. Some small 

 specimens were gathered, but they were not in perfection, and their beauty was nearly 

 gone.'' — 3. 



The first meeting for the year 1842 was held at Coldstream, on the 

 4th morning of the " merrie month of May ; " and a right gladsome 

 May-morning it must have been, as the following extract, redolent 

 of the country, will amply testify, 



" The rest of the members took a delightful walk down the banks of the Tweed by 

 Lennel to Milnegraden, where the lovely scenery, rendered doubly alluring by the now 

 bursting foliage of the woods spangled with heaven's own diamonds, and offering to 

 the eye all the varied tints of ' many greens,' and the promise of future luxuriance, 

 amply repaid all who enjoyed this walk, for the disappointment attending their search 

 for a piece of water which was expected to afford a rich harvest of aquatic plants and 

 insects in its ample bosom, to ' the careful and scientific explorers of its hidden trea- 

 sures ; ' but which the fairies or good people had either spirited away or rendered invi- 

 sible to the eyes of the expectant naturalists. Be this as it may, no lake could be found, 

 but many other very interesting objects were seen and duly appreciated. The humi- 

 dity of the morning had tempted from their lurking-places several varieties of snail, 

 and a few were gathered. The hawthorn, with its beautiful white blossoms and rich 

 scent perfuming the air, was gathered in full blow in several situations — a proof of 

 the forwardness of the season. The sand-martin was seen in great plenty, skimming 

 over the waters, and excavating its simple habitation in the banks which overhang the 

 Tweed ; and the varied sweetness of the thousand warblers trilling their songs of love, 

 added a charm to the morning's ramble, which the denizens of our crowded and bust- 

 ling towns can but rarely taste ; and if this club had no other or higher object than 

 occasionally to give such a delightful change and peaceful recreation to those whose 

 occupation confines them to the desk, or the close and uninteresting monotony of a 

 town life, that object alone would render it a blessing to the neighbourhood." — p. 4. 



The minutes of the next meeting, held at Gordon on the 15th of June, 

 furaish a more purely botanical extract, which to us is doubly inte- 

 resting, inasmuch as it relates principally to the charming Linnsea 

 borealis, — that " little northern plant, long overlooked, depressed, ab- 

 ject, flowering early," the very type of the early fortunes of him whose 

 name it will transmit to future ages, — which, gracefully encircling the 

 features of our own illustrious Eay, monthly greets the readers of 

 ' The Phytologist.' 



" The chief object of the club's meeting at Gordon was to gather Linnaea borealis 



