1909-1910-] A71 Account of the Excursions {igio). 269 



and before leaving, Mr Elliot kindly showed the party over 

 his farm and cattle courts, where the latest improvements 

 had been introduced, tending to make it one of the most 

 up-to-date farms in the Lothians. 



On June 18 there was an excursion to Manuel and Muir- 

 avonside. Under the leadership of Mr Ferguson Hamilton, 

 M.A., the party botanised the banks of the Avon and Caribber 

 Glen. The stationmaster at Manuel, who is interested in 

 natural history, kindly joined the members and conducted 

 them by a short cut to the ruins of a convent of Cistercian 

 nuns, founded by Malcolm IV. in 1156, and consecrated to the 

 Virgin. The name Manuel, or Emmanuel, however, seems 

 rather to indicate that it was originally a settlement of the 

 Culdees, who had a liking for the name Emmanuel. Mr 

 Eeynard drew the party's attention to several wild plants, — • 

 among them Arum maculatum in abundance. He called the 

 plant "Devil's bite," a name which none of the party had 

 heard before. He pointed out a fine specimen of Robinia 

 pseuclacacia, and a clump of Polygala vulgaris with pure white 

 flowers. The party then visited Muiravonside, and were con- 

 ducted over the gardens and hothouses. From the garden a 

 rustic bridge leads across the Avon to a meadow, at the other 

 side of which is the entrance to Caribber Glen. Here in its 

 old locality and in strong growth was Astrantia major. 

 Nearer the glen were found Melica uniflora and Milium effusum, 

 and in the glen the leopard's - bane and enchanter's night- 

 shade in profusion. The glen has lost much of its beauty, so 

 many trees have been cut down and left on the ground. But 

 the whin, the broom, the wild rose, and the woodbine are still 

 luxuriant. On the other side of the Avon and up the steep 

 glen the wood-geranium, the winter-green, and the cow-wheat 

 were found. Here the Avon forms a remarkable natural 

 feature. Flowing through rocks of sandstone, mouldering 

 under the greyness of age, and crested with heather and over- 

 hanging birch, it presents more the appearance of a scene in 

 a remote part of the Highlands than on the border of the 

 Lothians. On the green in front of Muiravonside House, and 

 nearly 200 feet above the stream, the party were entertained 

 to tea by Mr and Mrs Gillespie. From this eminence the 



