517 



in the til-woods of Lightfield, upon the Mellerstaiii estate; and thitlier, by a circuitous 

 route over moss and luuir, the eager party bent their steps. The first object which at- 

 tracted speci;il attention was an ancient and ruinous tower, situated to the west of tlie 

 village, and formerly occupied by the powerful family of Setons, who were allied to 

 the noble house of Gordon, fonnerly the proprietors of tliat district of country. Near 

 the old ruin Chelidonium raajus was found, furnishing another illustration to the opin- 

 ion that this plant was introduced into horticulture at an early era. In the peaty muir 

 on the farm of Greenknow, were gathered Stellaria glauca and Myosotis palustris, 

 while in the nearly stagnant waters of the Eden, was observed another plaut of rare 

 occurrence in Berwickshire, viz., Sparganium natans. After leaving the moss, every 

 fir-wood and thicket for miles around were penetrated and carefully searched for the 

 humble little flower bearing the name of the immortal Swede. The search was, alas 

 in vain ; and after continuing it for fully three hours, the spirits of the party flagged, 

 and they returned disappointed to the inn, where a good dinner and excellent liquore 

 soon dispelled any portion of vexation which might still be felt at the want of success 

 attending the expedition. One of the members of the club, however, nothing daunted 

 by a single failure, aud anticipating better fortune in a second attempt, did not allow 

 many days to elapse until he was again in the woods, in the hope of securing the pri- 

 zed Linna'a, and most fully and amply was he rewarded by beholding a large space 

 of ground covered with the delicate shining leaves of the trailing little plant, with here 

 and there a short flower-stalk ascending, and bearing a pair of beautiful pinkish bell- 

 shaped flowers, bending gracefully downwards : iuuumerable specimens of the finest 

 description were obtained. 



" It seemed remarkable that on the first search for it, all the members had passed 

 within five yards of the spot where the Linnaea grew. Listera cordata, Trollius euro- 

 paeus, Pyrola minor, were found in the woods during the course of the forenoon's walk, 

 and a new fungus, Jilcidium Pini, was added to the cryptogamic Flora of the county, 

 the bark of the fir-tree on which it grew being totally destroyed by its ravages." — p. 5. 



At this meeting was read a paper by Mr. Hardy, entitled ' Butter- 

 cups and Daisies,' in which the question of the etymology of the 

 terms gouUins, gowans, gollands &c. is fully discussed, and the vari- 

 ous plants to which these names have been applied, arc jiointed out. 

 The author observes that these terms, " as applied to plants, are ob- 

 viously related, and appear to derive tlieir origin ft-om the Anglo-Sax- 

 on (jold, or, if we wish to consult a more remote parentage, from tlie 

 Suio-Gothic gul, gol, yellow." Several dainty quotations from the 

 old herbalists are scattered through the paper, and show that various 

 yellow flowers, such as different species of Ranuncidus, Caltha palus- 

 tris, Trollius europicus and the coni-marygold, wore all known as yel- 

 low gowans; while the white division includes the daisy — the gowau 

 par excellence, which "stands at the head of its class, without a peer, 

 the type, as it were, in which all the superior pro})erties of the other 

 species are blended." 



Then we have " the horse-gowan, the Berwickshire name for Pyre- 

 thrum inodorum, Chrysanthonuim Leucanthcnuun and Anthemis ar- 



