242 



Report of the Meetings of the Berwickshire Naturalists' 

 Club for the Year 1883. By James Hardy. 



In the Eeport of this year's operations in the field, I shall for 

 the most part confine myself to the actual occurences of each day, 

 reserving more detailed information otherwise collected for sepa- 

 rate notice. 



The weather, a very important item in the success of meetings, 

 has been, like the season itself, very variable on the Club's days. 

 We had two brilliant days — Kelso and Eccles, and Holy Island ; 

 — a day that threatened a continuous rain in the morning, and 

 yet cleared up to be one of the finest days of the year — Yarrow 

 meeting; — a day that gave us a forenoon of propitious skies, 

 nearly drowned us at mid-day, and then broke up into a lovely 

 afternoon and evening — Aberlady ;— and finally a day of almost 

 uninterruped rain and tempest — Wooler and Cheviot. None of 

 our meetings, however, have been in vain ; something advantage- 

 ous can be extracted from them all. 



EDNAM, ECCLES, CROSSHALL, LEITHOLM, ANTON's HILL, AND 

 BIRGHAM, FROM KELSO. 



At the first meeting for. 1883, on "Wednesday, May 30th, the 

 weather was very favourable, and there was a large attendance 

 of members and guests at breakfast at the Queen's Head Hotel, 

 Kelso, About half-past ten the company set out on their day's 

 excursion in brakes and private conveyances. On the way to 

 Ednam, the site of the ancient hospital of St Leonard's of 

 Ednam, latterly called "the Spittle," was pointed out, while 

 Myrrhis odorata, one of the plants common to gardens connected 

 with such an institution, was seen growing- in so great abund- 

 ance as amply to identify the existence of the hospital with this 

 particular spot. The monument to the poet Thomson was not 

 visited. In the right hand hedge- row by the wayside, still 

 nearer to Ednam, Mr Brotherston finds young plants of the 

 small-leaved maple, and scattered examples of the rare moss 

 Leucodon sciuroides. 



Halting at Ednam, the party were permitted to approach the 

 gigantic wych-elm in the brewery garden; one of the largest 

 trees of the kind in Eoxburghshire. According to the measure- 

 ments taken, the girth is 20 feet 3 inches above the ground ; and 

 1 8 feet 6 inches at 2 feet from the ground ; and at the insertion 

 of the boughs it appeared to be considerably broader. One of 



