Report of Meetings. Qj James Hardy. 277 



number of the Proceedings. There was exhibited by the Eev. 

 Q-. P. "Wilkinson a very curious mediaeval ivory shrine repre- 

 senting the apotheosis of Mary Magdalene, which had been 

 found at Oroxdale, co. Durham. Mr Turnbull, Lilliesleaf, 

 brought a fine example of Actcea spicata with its berries, also the 

 scarlet Monarda, Monarda didyma, both from his garden. Mr 

 Farquharson stated that he had obtained specimens of fossil 

 Graptolites and Crustacea from the black slate at Dobb's Linn. 



The return was not less gratifying than the drive upwards. A 

 group of cattle occupied a spit on the lake-shore in a position 

 most favourable for a sketch. Fishers were out all along the 

 line of the stream. The fine views of massive green hills, with 

 far-stretching slopes and clean new farm steadings well sheltered ; 

 and lower down of clumps of trees, and birchen groves, and 

 scattered trees, and finally the grand old woods again, kept up 

 a succession of pleasing objects. At Yarrow Feus we witnessed 

 a party of pied wagtails in pursuit of flies disturbed from the 

 grass by a number of grazing cows, and admired the agility 

 which they exhibited in capturing their prey. 



One feature in Yarrow that a stranger remarks is the number 

 of sentinel-like stone pyramids on several of the hill-tops, and 

 especially clustered round Sundhope. The question is put, are 

 they modern or ancient ? Unquestionably modern in their 

 present pillar-like form, but many of them constructed at the 

 expense of a primeval cairn at their base. Those on the hills 

 around Bowhill are very recent, having been erected when some 

 of the family attained their majority, or for some other congrat- 

 ulatory manifestation. There are three all freshly built of cleaned 

 stones on the Three Brethren Hill, out of an accumulation of 

 long weathered stones. Those up the Yarrow were carefully 

 constructed, probably by shepherds as landmarks in mists and 

 snow storms. As said before, some of them at least are based 

 on a sepulchral cairn. Mr Currie examined one of these. He 

 writes, " I examined several cairns last spring, particularly one 

 on Ladhope Hill. On clearing away the foundation I came on a 

 cist formed by slabs set on edge, measuring about 2 feet 6 inches 

 by 18 inches, filled with black earth but no trace of human 

 remains." 



There are no camps in Yarrow, and besides these cairns and 

 the ancient burial ground at Annan's Street, no other discoveries 

 of tombs are known, than those recorded in the " New Statis- 



