a> . 
THE FLORA OF THE NORTH-EAST 29 
Tue CuLBIN SaNnps.—From the mouth of the river Findhorn the Culbin 
Sands—perhaps the most extraordinary physical phenomenon in Scotland 
—extend westward for more than six miles with a width varying from 
one to almost two miles. Here great accumulations of inblown sand 
have been piled up into enormous mounds, some over 100 ft. in height. 
These larger sand-hills, which are entirely destitute of vegetation, are 
continually on the move as the prevailing westerly winds drive the fine 
surface sand farther and farther east. But between these barren hills 
and the sea, and in an ancient bed of the Findhorn, which formerly 
discharged into the Firth three miles west of its present mouth, lie shallow 
lochs and moist hollows where a vegetation of intense interest to the 
ecologist exists. Since the estate of Culbin—once the ‘ Granary of 
Moray ’—was overwhelmed by drifting sand in 1694, man’s interference 
had, until recently, effected little change in the vegetation. Now, how- 
ever, the Forestry Commissioners, who have charge of the Culbin Sands 
area, are endeavouring to fix the barren dunes, by planting several hundred 
acres with Ammophila arenaria, in addition to planting Corsican pine and 
other conifers on the dunes as well as in the hollows. If, by sustained 
effort, the Commissioners succeed where hitherto individual efforts have 
failed, many of the rarer plants will in time disappear and the flora will 
lose much of its individual character and present attraction. 
Fortunately a very thorough ecological survey—the only one undertaken 
in the North-east, so far as we are aware—was made in 1923 by Mr. E.1.A. 
Stewart and Dr. Donald Patton of Glasgow. The results, the value of 
which will increase with the years, were published in the Transactions of 
the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, vol. xxix, and in the Botanical 
Exchange Club Report for 1923. ‘The value of the survey is greatly 
enhanced by reference to the important part which certain cryptogams, 
mentioned by name, play in the fixation of the sand. ‘These mosses and 
lichens not only occupy open spaces on the Ammophila-topped mounds, 
but by their closely interwoven shoots act as effective sand-binders. 
During their investigations Messrs. Stewart and Patton discovered in an 
artificial dam Hottonia palustris, a plant new to Scotland. ‘To their 
published list of 250 phanerogams at least 15 fall to be added along witha 
fourth fern, Botrychium Lunaria. In the list no fewer than nine species of 
orchids occur, including Goodyera repens, growing practically at sea-level, 
and one of the rarest of the orchid family—Coralorrhiza trifida—dis- 
covered as a new county record in 1910. ‘Though at low tide the mouth 
of the Findhorn is only a few yards wide, yet there is a striking contrast 
between the flora of the right bank and that of the Culbin Sands area on 
the left. Suffice it here to say that some 30-40 species grow on the right 
side which have not been recorded for the corresponding area on the left. 
Of these the more important are Thalictrum dunense, Ranunculus Baudotii, 
Sisymbrium Sophia, Malva rotundifolha, Ligusticum scoticum, Carduus 
tenutflorus, Erythrea littoralis, Volvus Soldanella, Elymus arenaria. 
DersipE.—As the Trail Memorial Volume includes comparative 
information on the distribution of plants in the seven parishes adjacent 
to the city parish, no further reference need be made to the flora of the 
immediate neighbourhood of Aberdeen. Turning inland we note that 
