1857.] TOUR IN SCOTLAND, 65 



The plants noticed on this portion (the last one) of our walk 

 were not numerous, but more so than the acquisitions of the pre- 

 vious day. On the 22nd we walked in the Higlilands, but most 

 of our last morning's walk was in the Lowlands. 



On the roadside, not far from Scone, Pyrola media was ga- 

 thered in fruit. We had on the previous Saturday seen two fine 

 examples of this species in full flower, on the summit or near the 

 summit of Drummond HiU, at Taymouth. This specimen, col- 

 lected near Perth, showed that the temperature of the lowlands 

 of Perthshire was considerably higher than that of the highlands ; 

 for though the distance be only thirty miles, yet the difference 

 in elevation is considerable, probably three hundred yards. The 

 highland specimens were in full flower, the lowland examples 

 were in fruit. We observed the following species for the first 

 time in Scotland : — Linaria vulgaris, a rare plant in Perthshire ; 

 also Vei^onica Anagallis, which is a rarity in other parts of the 

 British Isles, as well as here. The other two rarer Sinapides, in 

 addition to S. arvensis, were collected, viz. S. alba and S. nigra, 

 both struggling for an establishment in this northern latitude. 



In waste places about Perth we also saw Dipsacus sylvestris. 

 This is the last botanical rarity we have to register. 



Perth is a fine city, situated on a fertile plain on the right bank 

 of the Tay, and partly surrounded by hills of no great elevation, 

 aud^at some distance from the town. The country in its vicinity 

 is very fertile, and the scenery good. The spurs of the Ochil 

 Hills are the most conspicuous objects in the landscape. The 

 Tay and its bridge, and the beautiful Inch, are the most attrac- 

 tive features of Perth. One of the churches, St. John's, is the 

 finest church we saw in Scotland, a country not remarkable for 

 the grandeur of its ecclesiastical edifices. The bridge of Perth 

 is probably the best in Scotland ; but Scotland is more remark- 

 able for its rivers than for its bridges, — for natural rather than 

 for artificial beauties. It is said that the legions of Agricola, 

 on their march northwards, when they came within 'sight of the 

 Tay, exclaimed, Ecce Tiberim ! They might easily have paid a 

 shabbier compliment to their native river. People generally ex- 

 aggerate the qualities of what is their own. To the Cockney no 

 river is like the Thames ; to the badaud of Paris the Seine is the 

 fairest river in the world ; and a true Roman loved the yellow 

 Tiber. The Tay, though large and beautiful, has very few bridges 



N. S. VOL. II. • K 



