228 SCOTTISH BOTANY. [Octobev, 



tlie greenest verdure on the bare surface of the moist rocks. The 

 discovery was accidental in more senses than one, for I fell head- 

 long over the bank above it, and hurt my back very much. I 

 filled my little vasculum with specimens, without affecting in the 

 least degree the luxuriance of the patches ; and I did this with 

 less compunction as my motive was not a selfish one, and I knew 

 that it* was to be found in various other stations in the neigh- 

 bourhood. A short distance from this place, in the very heart of 

 the wood, where the stream forms a very beautiful and romantic 

 cascade, quite hidden by trees and rocks, and revealing itself only 

 to the prying lover of nature, we discovered the Scolopendrium 

 vulgare in considerable abundance. This Fern may be considered 

 unworthy of notice in the south of England, where it is as common 

 as the vulgar Polypody ; but in Scotland, where it is very rare, 

 and confined to a few localities, it is always regarded by the fern- 

 collector as an interesting and important acquisition; and cer- 

 tainly we contemplated with delight and admiration its huge 

 tufts of glossy tongue-like fronds, as they waved from the cre- 

 vices of the black, dripping rocks around us, and defied all oui' 

 efibrts to reach them. We were also particularly struck with the 

 beauty of the Cystopteris fragilis, which formed wreaths of the 

 most delicate verdure around the crumbling stones of the crypts 

 and arches below the castle, and attained a very unusual size, 

 although secluded from the light, and apparently but scantily 

 supplied with soil and moisture. Having filled our vasculums 

 with all the interesting plants we could find, and admired all the 

 remarkable scenes in the neighbourhood, we left Dollar, in the 

 evening, for home. We experienced the same intense heat on 

 our return which had rendered us so uncomfortable when we set 

 out in the morning; but we had received so much enjoyment 

 from the various incidents of the day, that we regarded such a 

 trifling circumstance as unworthy of complaint; and even the 

 ladies themselves bore with remarkable equanimity the heightened 

 glow which the too ardent sun had left upon their cheeks. 



