president's addeess, 71 



of mountain limestone, which seem to rise abruptly from an 

 enormous deposit of peat. These masses of limestone, which 

 are detached hills or hillocks of the ' Great Limestone ' of the 

 district, are very much broken up and covered, as limestones 

 usually are, with short grass, which gives them a bright green 

 appearance among the brown heath by which they are sur- 

 surrounded, and they are thus easily recognized. Asplenium 

 viride, small but plentiful, Cystopteris fragilis and other dwarfed 

 ferns were abundant. On the summit of Cross Eell we did not 

 see a single Knoutberry, JRuhus Chamosmorus, but it grew plenti- 

 fully, though not large, on the northern side of the hill. Ar- 

 rived at Cashwell, the miners gave us some refreshing tea, and 

 conveyances being in readiness we set off for Alston, and arrived 

 just in time to obtain a fag-end dinner. 



!N"ext morning we drove to JN^enthead, where, by the kind per- 

 mission of Mr, Bainbridge and under Mr. Bolton's guidance, we 

 witnessed the process of dressing and smelting the lead ore and 

 of separating the lead fi'om the zinc. The weather was so 

 thick that we did not think it worth while to ascend to Kilhope 

 Law, so we spent our time in botanizing along the road and 

 adjoining fields. Remarkably fine specimens of Thlaspi alpestre 

 were collected by the roadside. 



After dinner we visited the Nent Force and the entrance to 

 the Nent Level, the name given to a remarkable excavation made 

 to drain the mines of the Nent Yalley, which extends for miles 

 underground, and was formerly traversed occasionally by the 

 miners and others in a small boat. Leaving Alston early we 

 had time on our arrival at Haltwhistle to wander through that 

 quaint little town, and thus finished an excursion which was on 

 the whole very enjoyable. 



Our Special Meeting at North Berwick and the Bass Eock 

 was fixed for Monday, July 12th.* 



* My warm thanks are due to our Secretary, Mr. Howse, for the valuable assistance 

 I have received from him in preparing this account of the Field Meetings, and I especi- 

 ally wish to mention that I was not myself present at the Bass Eock Meeting, and that 

 the following graphic and interesting account of the Gannet's home is entirely from 

 his pen. 



