REPORT OF MEETINGS FOR 1908 271 



1885 as a "Eest and be thankful" spot, where physical wants 

 might be attended to.^' The mode of entering the Dean 

 is a matter of some consequence, inasmuch as the banks are 

 remarkably steep, terminating for the most part in an abrupt 

 wall of conglomerate down which it is dangerous, if not 

 impossible, to clamber, and are clad with a rank growth of 

 shade-loving plants which in time of rain hold an immense 

 quantity of moisture. Less than three weeks later in the same 

 month, after a spell of showery weather, the conditions of 

 climbing were tenfold more disagreeable, by reason of the 

 saturated state of the undergrowth and the increased volume 

 of the stream. So narrow is the channel that progress could 

 only be made by bestriding the burn, and, through the aid 

 of projecting stones, jerking oneself forward on-e step at a 

 time. In this connection it may be useful to record that 

 travelling is more rapid and easy if prosecuted up-stream, 

 but that in so doing it is not practicable to begin the ascent 

 so near the mouth of the Dean as one may reach by following 

 the course of the water down-stream. Even in the latter case 

 it becomes a matter of some difficulty to discover an easy exit. 

 To fully appreciate the romantic nature of the gorge, however, 

 it is necessary to descend, when the support of a stout pole or 

 ice-axe will contribute much to one's safety and progress. Its 

 vegetation is varied and abundant, the graceful Wood Vetch 

 (Vicia sylvatica) falling in lovely sprays of pale lavender and 

 white, and vying with the Stone Bramble (Bitbtis saxatilis), sport- 

 ing its bright red fruit in quantity, in clothing the cliffs exposed 

 above the fused substratum. Ferns in great variety abound 

 in the shade of the belt of trees on either side of the ravine, 

 and stud the rocks through which the mountain torrent has 

 forced a passage. Among them were Polypodium Phegopteris ; 

 P. Dryopteris ; Cystopteris fragilis ; Polystichum aculeatitm var. 

 lohatum ; Lastrcea montana ; L. Filix-mas ; Athyrium Filix- 

 fcemina ; Asplenium Trichommies ; A. Adiantum-nigrum ; and 

 Blechnum spicant. Sedges, including Carex pulicaris and C 

 glanca, were plentiful, but the conspicuous example of this 

 genus was C. laevigata, which attained an unusual length in 

 shady situations, Among other plants gathered the following 



# B.N.C, Vol, XI., Part 1, p, 87. 



