1910-1911.] Burns and the Song-Birds of Scotland. 323 



Sweet "Woodruff (Asperula odorata), fine as they are in their 

 own way, have also rather too great powers of spreading to be 

 much desired as garden flowers. 



Now, lastly, a few words on the difficulty or otherwise of 

 keeping " the weeds of a garden " in proper subjection. This 

 depends on several circumstances : the nature of the soil, 

 the climate, the amount of labour available, and so on. In 

 some gardens I know, where the soil is sandy or light loam, 

 the task of weeding is a comparatively easy one ; in our 

 heavy damp soil it is quite impossible to keep the place look- 

 ing decent, especially in wet seasons, and without much 

 assistance. If weeds cannot be cut down with the hoe when 

 quite small, they soon develop flowers and seeds, and must 

 then be pulled by hand ; but some will always escape notice 

 when growing among bushes, and these rapidly do their work. 

 Rows of peas and beds of flowers are also difficult to keep 

 clean. And while Thistles and Dandelions and suchlike grow 

 in the fields around, the gentlest breezes will waft some 

 of their seeds " over the garden wall," to give additional 

 labour to the gardener, and, as has been truly said, " the 

 gardener's work is never done." 



[Dried specimens of plants noted in this paper were ex- 

 hibited.] 



N,— ROBERT BURNS AND THE SONG-BIRDS OF 

 SCOTLAND, 



By the Rev. D. W. WILSON, M.A. 

 {Read Jan. 25, 1911.) 



Our national poet was a lover of bird-life. Their songs 

 cheered him in his hours of despondency, and inspired him to 

 poetical effort when imagination flagged. He had evidently 

 a deep sympathy with the songsters of our woods and fields, 

 and often referred to them in language of great beauty. To 

 recall some of these references is perhaps a fresh way of 

 reading the poetry of our national bard. The list is a fairly 



