270 REPOET OF FIELD MEETINGS. 



train to Alnmouth, we walked by way of Lesbury along the 

 Alnwick road, and reached the crag from the south. Like the 

 rest of the basaltic cliffs on this side of the county, Ratcheugh 

 faces the west ; the approach from the east being by a gradual 

 ascent, the cliff being quite hidden from view until you actually 

 stand upon the top. The crag itself is well wooded and 

 picturesque in appearance, except at the extreme north and 

 south, where there are quarries for the production of paving 

 setts. On the invitation of Mr. Lamb, the lessee of the 

 quarries, several members visited the one at the northern end 

 of the crag, where the newest machinery for drilling the hard 

 rock, and also for crushing it, was seen in operation. More 

 interesting to the geologists were traces of the glacial age in 

 the form of striated markings on the surface of the whinstone 

 which had been recently bared. While the geologists were 

 examining the quarry, the botanists were busy exploring the 

 wooded portion of the crag, and were successful in finding the 

 maiden pink {DiaJithus deltoides) fairly abundant, growing in 

 thin soil on the top of the crag. Among other plants which 

 they found were the blue grass {^Sesleria canded), growing on 

 the limestone, the only place in the county where it is known 

 to occur; also the spindle tree {Etionynms europceus), and 

 abundance of Viola hirta. The two sections of the party 

 gathered once more at the little observatory that crowns the 

 summit, where tea was partaken of in the open air. After 

 rest and refreshment, the party set out for the village of 

 Boulmer by a path that runs through the fields. We did not 

 actually enter the village, but skirted it, and returned by 

 another route to Alnmouth Station ; one or two of the party 

 prolonging the day by going on to Alnmouth village and 

 returning by a later train. The day was hot and sultry, but 

 the walk through the fields in the evening air, especially as we 

 neared the shore, was delightful. Bird life was not abundant, 

 but the Corncrake was still busy rasping out his notes, and a 

 few of the commoner species were noticed both in the woods 

 and in the fields. 



