NATURAL “HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 79 
repaired and the plants destroyed. Lepidiwm Smithii, which is said 
to be rare, I have found in several places; it was very plentiful on 
an old road at Kilmalcolm and is still found near Fort Matilda 
and at several other places by the shore. Jberzs amar is occasion- 
ally found about the shore near Fort Matilda. One of the rarest 
plants of the West of Scotland, and belonging to the order Caryo- 
phyllaceae, should be mentioned; I refer to Cerastiwm arvense, 
which was noticed about 6 years ago by Mr. Charles Pennell of 
Greenock (a member of the Society), and which grows by the 
shore a short distance west from Fort Matilda in a field locally known 
as the Battery Field. Silene inflata, S. noctiflora, Lychnis ves- 
pertina, and Githago segelum have also been found in the neigh- 
bourhood of Greenock within the last few years. Touch-me-not, 
Impatiens noli-me-tangere, is found by the shore about quarter of 
a mile west from the Cloch Light-house, growing at one place 
especially in great profusion ; I first noticed it about 4 years ago. 
A few plants belonging to the Leguminosae may be noted. 
Melilotus officinalis, the Yellow Meliote, was found last year in 
the Battery Field by Mr. Struthers of the Watt Museum. 
Trifolium arvense, well named the “ Hare’s-foot Trefoil,” is found 
in the suburbs of Greenock; and the pretty little Ornithopus 
perpusillus, which I have observed for a number of summers on 
a dry bank by the side of the road on the north side of the Glasgow 
and South-Western Railway, and about 14 miles west from Kil- 
malcolm. These are the most noteworthy plants belonging to 
- this order found in our district, but there are other two species 
which, though not found, strictly speaking, within the specified limits, 
might be noticed before passing on. These are, first, Vieca lathy- 
voides, which I happened to find on Dumbarton Rock, in June, 
1878, and at a subsequent date. This plant cannot be confounded 
with V. angustifolia, Roth, especially when examined in fruit as 
well as in flower, its smooth pods and granulated seeds forming a 
very distinctive characteristic. | am not aware of any station 
having been found for it so near Glasgow. The second is also a 
Vetch— V. sylvatica, which I noticed in Auchinreoch Glen, near 
Dumbarton, in 1878, when I was very much struck with its beauty. 
Among the Rosaceae, Rosa arvensis is found at Gourock, and by 
the shore near Leven House below Ashton. The Crab Apple, 
Pyrus Malus, is found a little off the Larkfield road and about 
midway between Gourock and Ravenscraig, where it forms part 
