318 MR. G. E. HUNT ON THE RARER MOSSES 



accession to the number, and they will then amount to 

 about 300. These latter, however, are mostly common 

 and universally distributed ; and only the following rarities 

 call for notice, viz. : — 



Tortula papillosa. Ulota Hutchinsiae. 



Grimmia tricophylla. Ludwigii. 



Hartmannii. Habrodon Notarisii. 



On entering Braemar, the character of the country 

 greatly changes, and with it the vegetation. The valleys 

 (which themselves have an altitude of about 1000 feet) 

 and many of the lower ridges of the mountains are com- 

 posed of slaty rocks. The higher mountains, viz. those 

 of the Cairngorm range, are granitic, and, owing to their 

 massiveness, and to their usually rounded summits, present 

 at first sight a somewhat monotonous aspect, and deceive 

 the eye by giving the appearance of much less altitude 

 than is really the case, many of their peaks being upwards 

 of 4000 feet in height, and Ben-mac-dhui, the loftiest of 

 the range, reaching to 4295 feet, being second in Britain 

 only to Ben Nevis, which exceeds it by 1 1 1 feet. 



The slaty rock, from the ready decomposition of its 

 surface, its numerous crevices, and its generally damp 

 character, forms a favourite ground for mosses. At the 

 lowest level the following species occur : — 



On trees Orthotrichum speciosum. 



,, Ulota Drummondii. 



„ Antitrichia curtipendula. 



On rocks Hypnum callichroum. 



Dr. Dickie also finds on the decayed wood of dead fir 

 trees the very rare Buxbaumia indusiata. The same gentle- 

 man finds on debris, at a slightly higher altitude (1500 

 feet), Buxbaumia aphylla and Anacalypta latifolia; and 

 in like situations Encalypta ciliata is frequent. 



The moors, rocks, and streams of Glen Callater and 

 Loch Kandor produce : — 



