Report of Meetings. By James Hardy. 265 



cuius from Langton. Mr W. B. Boyd brought an example of 

 the ripe fruit of Rubus arcticus, var. fcecundus, grown at Faldon- 

 side. It had a vanilla scent and flavour. A comparison of notes 

 of the rare or new plants obtained in last month's excursion to 

 Holy Island was made, Thrincia hirta was noticed at the 

 Snook ; and this was confirmed by Mr Evans, who finds it grow- 

 ing all along the sandy coast on the mainland near the Island. 

 Thalictrum minus and Botrychium Lunaria were gathered on the 

 Links ; of Tragopogon porrifolius one example was got by Mr 

 Charles Watson, and CaUle rugosa, a plant new to Britain, was 

 found by Dr. Charles Douglas — a whole strip of it — on the Castle 

 Eock. The specimen of the last was determined by Professor 

 Dickson of Edinburgh, who had a favourable opinion of its 

 indigenousness. Subsequently, however, my colleague. Dr. F. 

 Douglas writes me, that it grew as if from seed that had fallen 

 from about the Castle ; and Professor Babington writes me thus : 

 " CaJcile {or TSitliev Baptsirum) rugora, I believe to be an introduced 

 plant; it has often been found in connection with cultivation." 



Twice the company essayed to venture forth to visit Luffness, 

 which had been rendered accessible by the courtesy of the Hon. 

 Mrs Hope. On the first attempt it was still too wet, and the 

 conveyance had scarcely left the second time when the rain 

 descended in torrents. Shelter was sought under trees and be- 

 hind stone walls and umbrellas till it faired, when the remains 

 of the old monastery and church of the Eed Friars, with the 

 recumbent statue, said to be that of one of the Bickertons of 

 Luffness, by others the founder, whoever he was, were inspected, 

 as well as the adjoining site of their fish ponds still plainly dis- 

 cernible. "The church measures 94 ft. 10 in. by 19 feet, form- 

 ing an oblong divided by a central chancel arch." (Proc. S. A. 

 Scotland, iii., 299.) 



Luffness is a small but most interesting example of a Scottish 

 baronial mansion. The old portion has been a fortified house, 

 with walls of great thickness, on a model of Dirleton Castle, to 

 which the present family have made additions not out of keeping 

 with the original. The clustered towers are very striking. The 

 tall chimneys are visible above the trees from every point of 

 vantage in the district. It is surrounded by the ditches which 

 defended the fort raised by De Thermos, the French General, in 

 1649, to distress the English garrison at Haddington, by inter- 

 rupting their supplies, by which and other measures he eff eo- 



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