62 BOTANICAL TOlhl IN THE 



appearance. On approaching the capital, Arthur's Seat, the 

 Berwick Law, and the hills of Fife give relief to the uniformity 

 of the scene ; but these elevations are as bare of everything save 

 grass as the sea-shore, or as the summit of Ben-mac-dui. Craig- 

 miller Woods on the left, though at a distance, give an aspect of 

 richness to the scenery. 



The general bare and barren-like appearance which prevails 

 about the metropolis has been already noticed. But the barrenness 

 is only in appearance, the rich succulent green herbage, though 

 closely cropped, evinces the natural fertility of the soil ; but there 

 is a striking absence of trees on the south and east of Edinburgh. 

 The trees on the west of Edinburgh, or on the south side of the 

 Frith, between Leith and Hopeton House, " only serve to remind 

 us," as Dr. Macculloch well said, " of the millions that are want- 

 ing." The environs of Edinburgh on the south and east are 

 singularly romantic : the Calton Hill is now pretty well occupied 

 with monumental and other erections, all more or less of an or- 

 namental kind ; but Arthur's Seat, the noblest and most pictu- 

 resque of all Edina's natural features, does not possess a single 

 tree to soften the rugged aspect of the scene. The rocky peak 

 of the hill, and the long mural- like frowning rocks of St. Leonard's, 

 contrast rather singularly with the architectural appearances of 

 the new town of Edinburgh. Trees might be judiciously em- 

 ployed even to enhance the pictorial effect of Arthur's Seat. 

 But if the citizens have not ornamented Arthur's Seat, they have 

 abstained from spoiling it ; and this is no mean praise in times 

 when a taste for artificial beauty and landscape ornamenta- 

 tion is so prevalent. From Edinburgh to Stirling, the aspect 

 of both shores of the Forth forms a very favourable contrast 

 with that of the country between Berwick and Edinburgh. 

 Here both wood and water are the rule; there they are the 

 exception. 



Agriculture and grazing are the prominent occupations of the 

 people on the south of Edinburgh, on the eastern or coast line. 

 From Edinburgh to Stirling the country verging on the shores 

 of the lower part of the Frith appears about equally divided be- 

 tween the noble and opulent classes and the hardy races who toil 

 in quarries and mines. The little towns that skirt the shores 

 are all more or less engaged in the maritime trade of this thri- 

 ving part of the kingdom, or are supported by the quarrying or 



