194 FieLD MEETINGS. 
landscape which enshrines the tale of a Borderland in geology, 
in pre-history, in medieval conflict. | Beyond the swelling 
ridges at our feet the clansmen from the north conducted 
their last raid, and before their time the battles of Irving and 
of Johnstone, of Douglas and of Maxwell, of Bruce and of 
Percy, carry the mind away back over the dim centuries into 
‘* the mists of antiquity, out of which looms the sullen splen- 
dour of more classic arms.’’ For the Roman eagle, by way of 
the Kirtle Valley yonder, penetrated from the north-England 
province in its endeavour to add Caledonia to the banner rolls 
of the Legions. Within a stone’s throw of the hill crest we 
have clear evidences of the Roman skill in camp making, and 
the great defensive works at Birrens are not far off. Peel and 
beacon hills remind us of the stern days of Border warfare, 
while the earthworks so liberally scattered on sister summits 
bear us in imagination back to the days when the valleys 
below us lay under marsh and forest. It would be more than 
interesting for the student just to sit here with a map and 
try to identify the sites of the forts and of the Border towers. 
I do not think I am far wrong when I say that 15 of each is a 
fair estimate. 
It would appear, then, worth our afternoon’s study to con- 
sider this remarkable view point. And first, just a brief sketch 
of its geological history. The hill itself is a mass of basaltic 
lava surrounded by Upper Old Red Sandstone. The formation 
belongs to a period of volcanic activity intervening between 
the siluriah and Old Red Sandstone epochs, and a line of vents 
occurs in a narrow belt between Langholm and Carruthers- 
town by Waterbeck, Middlebie, and Dalton. To the north of 
us the nearer ridges are of the Wenlock and Ludlow type of 
upper silurian, the further and higher hills belong to the Birk- 
hill shale and Llandovery type of upper silurian. To our 
immediate south the valley is basally Upper Old Red Sand- 
stone, part of the very narrow strip from Langholm to the 
Annan Valley. Beyond it is the Middlebie portion of the lava 
outflow. Further south by the Mein Valley is a broad belt of 
lower carboniferous sandstones and limestones. Nearer the 
Solway and forming the well-known sill are the marls and 
