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Report of the Meetings of the Berwickshire Naturalists' 

 Club for the Tear 1880. By James Hardy. 



The first meeting of the Club for the year 1880 took place at 

 Dunbar, in the St. George Hotel, on May 26th. There were 

 twenty-eight present ; including Mr Charles Watson, F.S.A., 

 Scot., President ; Mr James Hardy, Secretary ; Eevs. J. E. 

 Bigge, Stamfordham ; Joseph Hill Scott, Kelso ; G. W. Sprott, 

 D.D., North Berwick ; W. Stobbs, Gordon ; E. Hopper "William- 

 son, Whickham, co. Durham ; Capt. J. F. Macpherson, Melrose ; 

 Dr Charles Stuart, Chirnside ; Messrs Thomas Allan, Horncliffe 

 House ; W. B. Boyd, Ormiston House ; James Bogie, Edin- 

 burgh ; Thomas Darling, Berwick ; Eobert Gray, F.E.S.E., 

 Edinburgh ; G. P. Hughes of Middleton HaU, Wooler ; William 

 H. Johnson, Edinburgh ; E. D. Ker, Edinburgh ; James Knox, 

 Dunbar ; Peter Loney, Marchmont ; Thomas Patrick, Berwick ; 

 George L. Paidin, Berwick ; Stanley Scott, Kelso ; J. J. Steytler, 

 London ; John Turnbull of Abbey St. Bathans ; Adam Watson, 

 Dunse ; William Wilson, Berwick ; William Willoby, Berwick ; 

 Matthew Young, Berwick. 



The morning threatened rain, and a high wind prevailed ; but 

 at mid-day the sun shone out, and the wind lulled. The country 

 being in its fresh spring array, and the scenes visited being new 

 as well as worth seeing, the excursion was most enjoyable. 

 After breakfast, some of the old Council books (four venerable 

 folio volumes) of the town of Dunbar were inspected with much 

 interest in the Town Clerk's (Mr Notman's) office. These date 

 from the Cromwellian period. The older series was said to have 

 been lost by the shipwreck of a boat, which was transporting the 

 vols, for safe custody to the Bass, when Cromwell's army was 

 about to occupy the town. There are many other documents of 

 the town still extant. 



The members were conveyed in carriages. Spott Dean house 

 and village were first touched at. Before reaching these. Loch- 

 end, belonging to Sir George Warrender, was passed on the 

 right, which is at present in ruins, the house having been 

 burned down. There are some good yew and silver firs, as well 

 as ornamental conifers, in the pleasure grounds. Scrophularia 

 vernalis, a garden escape, is abundant in a half -wild state, in the 

 precincts of the garden. Easter and Wester Broomhouses, next 



