1910-1911.] An Account of the Excursions (1911). 377 



Scolopendrium vulgare being conspicuous. Near the entrance 

 to the castle a plane-tree {Acer Pseudo-platamts) was pointed out. 

 It is upwards of 1 3 feet in girth at 8 feet from the ground. 

 It is called the " maiden-tree," because of its singular 

 beauty and symmetry of form. At the castle, once in- 

 habited by the Argyll family, the leader pointed out the 

 keep and its dungeon, and the pulpit outside, where John 

 Knox is said to have held Communion Service after the 

 Eeformation. A visit was then made to " Kemp's Score " or 

 cut, a remarkable fissure in front of the castle. It is a 

 natural cutting in the rock, improved by artificial means. It 

 is more than 100 feet from top to bottom, and was used as a 

 passage to obtain water from the stream below in the event 

 of a siege. From the roof of the great hall there is a com- 

 manding view of the surrounding country, with the " silver 

 winding Devon " flowing beneath, of which Burns sang — 



" Let Bourbon exult in his gay gilded lilies, 



And England triumphant display her proud rose, 

 A fairer than either adorns the great valleys 

 Where Djevon, sweet Devon, meandering flows." 



On May 20 Mr T. C. Day gave another geological demon- 

 stration on the Pentland Hills at Loganlee. This excursion 

 took place in delightful weather, and a large number were 

 present. They travelled by motor -bus, and on arriving at 

 the waterfall at Loganlee, plans and sections were displayed 

 to illustrate the geological relations of the rocks, and to give 

 an idea of the origin of the great anticlinal fold out of which 

 the Pentland Hills have been eroded. The position and re- 

 lationship of the Silurian rocks, the oldest in the district, were 

 made clear, — how they were folded and denuded, and how 

 the lower Old Eed Sandstone rocks were deposited on the 

 upturned edges of the Silurian rocks, together with their 

 associated volcanic material (lavas and tuffs) : how these 

 were in turn succeeded, after folding and denudation, by the 

 upper Old Red Sandstone series, and the lower members of 

 the Carboniferous series. The great intrusive mass of Felsite 

 which composes the North Black Hill was also noticed, and 

 the points where it came in contact with the lower Old Red 

 conglomerates above and the Silurian mudstones below (see 



