ON THE PLANT REMAINS IN THE SCOTTISH PEAT MOSSES. 701 
the peat under a dissecting microscope, though this is at best a tedious process. 
Gunnar ANDERSSON (8) has described a special method of loosening the peat by treat- 
ment with a strong oxydising agent such as nitric acid. This partly bleaches the peat, 
_ which, placed in a metal net, is kept below water. The finer material, consisting of 
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groups of cells and unicellular organisms, floats out in the water ; the coarser remains, 
such as seeds, stems, etc., are retained by the net, and can then be spread out on a 
slide and examined under the microscope. This method yields good results when 
dealing with peat rich in plant remains. Specimens of the peat from different layers 
have also been embedded in parattin wax, and serial sections cut with a microtome and 
mounted in Canada Balsam for microscopic examination. 
The following areas were investigated during last year :— 
1. Upland mosses in Kirkcudbrightshire and Ayrshire : 
The mosses lying between the Merrick and Kells range. 
2. Upland mosses in Selkirkshire : 
Mosses in the Tweedsmuir and St Mary’s Loch district. 
3. Hill-top mosses in Peeblesshire and Edinburghshire : 
Peat of the Moorfoot Hills. 
4. Lowland mosses in Wigtonshire : 
Flow of Dergoals, Dirskelpin Moss, Knock Moss, Anabaglish Moss. 
5. Buried peat and clay beds in the Harn Valley. 
6. Mosses resting on the 25-feet raised beach of the south coast : 
Moss of Cree in Wigtonshire. Priestside Flow in Dumfriesshire. 
A preliminary examination was made of the peat of Lochar Moss in Dumfriesshire, 
some of the Scottish Midland Plain mosses, and the hill-top mosses of Cross Fell in 
Cumberland ; but, owing to want of time, a complete investigation of these mosses had 
to be postponed. 
THe Uptanp Mossss or tHe Merrick anp Keuus District. 
The mosses investigated in this district lie at elevations of 700-1000 feet above sea- 
level, and are situated in the valley running north and south between the Merrick and 
Kirriereoch range of hills on the west and the Kells range on the east (one inch Ordnance 
Survey—sheet 8). The valley is about 10 miles in length with an average width of 2-3 
miles, and is drained to the north by the Gala Lane flowing into Loch Doon, and by 
Cooran Lane flowing south. The divide between the two drainage systems is situated 
5 miles south of the head of Loch Doon, in the form of a low neck of land with an 
elevation of about 1000 feet running between Mullwarchar on the Merrick range to 
Corserine on the Kells range. The Merrick range, as a whole, is granitic in structure, 
whilst the Kells consists of Silurian rocks. 
The marks of glacial action are evident everywhere in the district ; the rocks are fre- 
quently ice scratched, perched blocks are numerous, and small moraines in a remarkably 
