62 Pract NAMES. 
also in Kirkcudbright, not in association with a church site, but 
with one of those nearly rectangular forts commonly supposed to 
be Roman. In Southwick are Dunmuck, Doonend (probably a 
corruption again of the Gaelic diminutive), and Dunjimpon ; the 
latter found also in Buittle; in Twynholm, Din Hill and Doon 
Hull. 
Without going specially into the local distribution of the 
prefixes Auchen and Da/, which are not specifically hill epithets, 
let us look at some of the names, Gaelic and oth2r than Gaelic, 
which stud the maps with their odd-looking lettering, and surprise 
or amuse the ear when one hears them pronounced. Many 
hybrids offer good examples of this peculiarity. For instance, 
Shouther o’ Mullbane, Tormoidknowe, Wee Meaul, Alwhannie 
Knowes, Haes 0’ Poljargen, are hill epithets in Carsphairn, both 
quaint and sonorous. Fangs o’ Merrick, Lamachan Scaur, Nick 
o’ the Bushy, Wheel, Clachaneasy, Borganferrach, Troston, Scars 
o’ Gaharn, Closing, Clashdookie, Nick 0’ Slanyvenach, Magempsey 
—this formidable-sounding array represents but a few picked at 
random out of my lists for the wild highland parish of Minnigaff, 
names, for the most part, best left alone, so far as interpretation is 
concerned. To one just mentioned, however, I am tempted to advert 
for a moment—Clachaneasy. ‘This is usually supposed to be the 
Gaelic Clachan Josa, in a corrupt form, and to mean ‘“ the hamlet, 
or church, of Jesus.” To give colour to this, one would expect to 
find the ruins of a primitive chapel near ; but not even the site of 
such is, traditionally or otherwise, vouchsafed us. Besides, easy is 
a most unwarrantable mispronunciation of /osa. The true inter- 
pretation, while destroying the sentiment of association with an 
early Christian settlement here, is, at anyrate,reasonable. Close 
by the bridge, near Clachaneasy, is a small stream, like many 
another stream hereabouts, of turbulent temper and changeable. 
Its name is, nowadays, Essie or Essy. What can be simpler 
than to trace the “ easy” of the place name to the Gaelic eassze, 
or cascade, or a stream of cascades? Iam glad to find that my 
rendering of this name is in agreement with that suggested by 
more than one Gaelic scholar far more competent to pronounce an 
opinion. 
Girthon—to resume our main line of illustration—supplies us 
with the very strange names, Syllodioch and Garniemire ; in 
Balmaclellan, high wp among the hills, 1150 ft. above sea level, is 
