Jrtte pare fe. ste af4e7 pp. Cg, 
Notes and Observations on a Holiday in the Black 
Forest of Scotland. 
By Henry TuNALEy, F.E.S. Read February 25th, 1897. 
Tue Black Forest of Scotland, comprising the forests of Rothie- 
murchus and Glenmore, lies in a vast amphitheatre having the 
mountains of Braeriach and Cairngorm on the south-east, Craigel- 
lachie Rock on the west, Callart on the north, and Ord Bain on the 
south. The latter, as its name the ‘“‘White Hill” implies, is of 
limestone formation, and differs both in structure and appearance 
from the wild and rugged Cairngorms whose granite summits rise 
more than 4000 feet above the sea level. 
It is a land of, dark pine forest, covering thousands of acres with 
its sombre mantle, the fringes of which gradually fade and disappear 
on the sterner slopes of the surrounding heights. A land of moor 
and glen, river and loch, not to be surpassed in wildness and beauty 
in any part of Scotland. And, alas! from a collector’s point of view, 
a land of mist and rain, of wind and storm, and treacherous bog. 
At least such was my experience during my holiday last summer. 
Day after day one hoped for the fine weather, which came not except 
in fitful gleams. Each morning one anxiously sought of one’s host 
a forecast of the weather, only to receive the reply long ago crystal- 
lised into a Scotch proverb, “‘ Indeed, and it will be just a blink and 
a drink, whatefer.” 
The lower and more western part of this amphitheatre is traversed 
by the Spey, which here races through a sylvan valley of birch and 
alder. Higher up are the Luinack and Bennie Rivers, at the junc- 
tion of which stands Coylum Bridge, a smali hamlet of three or four 
dwelling-houses and a shop,—the latter a kind of emporium, the 
only one for miles, at which may be purchased anything under the 
sun—except the very article one may happen to want. 
It was at Coylum Bridge that I first met Mr. J. F. X. King, by 
whom I was introduced to this—to me—new district, and in whose 
society I collected till he left at the end of August. 
The chief of my work lay in the highest part of the plateau,— 
tooo feet above sea level, overlooking the forest, and opposite the 
gloomy gorge of the Lanig-Ghru, a pass leading over the hills to 
Braemar. It is a good mile from Coylum Bridge, and three from 
Aviemore. The district, consisting of a couple of farms, is called 
Achnahatnick, a word derived from “ ailen,” the Gaelic for juniper, 
and signifies the ‘Place of the Juniper.” And a very appropriate 
name it is if the English tongue could trip it a little more glibly, for 
the juniper grows thickly hereabouts except in the denser parts of 
1 
