50 Report of Meetings for 1890. By Dr J. Hard,y. 



hollowed out in the centre, either by parties in search of its 

 contents, or in quest of rabbits, and is round in its outline ; the 

 second of a longish ovate form was overgrown with long heather 

 and entire ; and the third had had its summit tampered with. 

 They had every advantage of being prominent objects to the 

 dwellers round in the far-back ages of savagery, to which, and 

 not to the time of the Border wars, they belong. It was in the 

 first of these that the introductory excerpts already given were 

 read. There was not much scope f or botanising : the chief plants 

 were Genista Anglica (Petty Whin) which grows also behind the 

 Coe Crags, the highest part of Eimside Moor ; tlie Listera cordata 

 which may be said to be passim among long heather ; and an 

 abundance of the curious upland moss, S^jlcichnum mnioides, which 

 selects for its habitat, the decayed droppings of sheep. The 

 Sun-dew and other bog-plants are to be sought for lower down 

 by the Coe Burn. Sedum villosum (hairy stone-crop) has been 

 picked up in some of the ditches. The birds noted were Larks, 

 Pipits, Lapwings, and Curlews. 



An old earthern wall, encircling this part of the hill and de- 

 scending into the wood, is said to have been the boundary of 

 Rabbit Hall. The corner display of crags have among them 

 some strange-shaped rock-masses and pillars. The weather- 

 wasted sandstones are not sufficiently appreciated as features in 

 a landscape. The stunted firs are much lichened ; Cefraria 

 glauca was prevalent. Howmuir is the name of the plantation 

 that contains Callaly Crag. 



CALLALY CRAG. 



We are now summoned from our pastoral studies of "Deer- 

 hair," " Eose-bent," and " Moss-crops," to which the conversation 

 had led, by the announcement that if we did not quicken our 

 steps, the lot of the Unwise Virgin would be ours. The next 

 paragraph from our reporter will explain how this happened. 



On arriving at the next point, Callaly Hill, the now^ somewhat 

 weary and thirsty travellers were delighted to find that Major 

 Browne's kindly forethought had preceded them. A couple of 

 sturdy mountain ponies with well-stocked panniers of drinkables 

 here awaited them, and needless to say they were very welcome. 

 One of these animals, we may remark in passing, was a " Soudan 

 hero," having being instrumental in contributing to the salvation 

 of the small Bi-itish force in that memorable Sunday fight, by 



