36 



MR FRANCIS J. LEWIS 



A good bird's-eye view of nearly the whole district can be obtained from the summit 

 of Fashven, six miles south of Cape Wrath. Seen from here, the peat deposits appear as 

 a broad sheet covering all the lower part of the country, only the bare Torridonian 

 sandstone summits being free from peat. In the more exposed situations denudation 

 has been active, large patches of peat are bare of vegetation and frequently under water. 



The surface of the peat and the configuration of the peat-hags on the summit of 

 Maovally bear witness that the action of the wind is a most important factor in the 

 denudation of the peat. On the hill slopes, particularly those that face N.W., the 

 rhizomes of Junceae all lie on little ridges of peat held together by the numerous 

 fine roots of the plants, the peat having been completely blown away from the sides 

 and tops of the rhizomes. The summit of Maovally (984 feet) forms a small plateau 

 about one-third mile across. This was originally covered with deep peat, which now 

 has been washed away to forms exactly resembling sand-dunes — the longer axes of the 

 dunes all pointing N.W. to S.E., the direction from which the strongest gales occur. 



The peat over this area supports a vegetation of Scirpus ceespitosus * and stunted 

 Calluna, forming aD association much like that described by Pethybridge and Praeger (2) 

 on some of the Irish moors in Wicklow. No trees of any kind now occur in the district. 



The chief geological formations are Torridonian Pebbly Grits and Gneiss (Lewisian). 



Sections and borings were taken in all the valleys and up the hillsides for a distance 

 of nine miles south of Cape Wrath. Owing to denudation, natural sections are fairly 

 numerous, particularly in the north. The peat was found to be of moderate depth, 

 varying from 8-14 feet, the depth gradually increasing as some of the broad open valleys 

 near Cape Wrath were examined. 



A preliminary examination of the peat banks throughout the district showed no 

 trace of the upper pine forest except at one or two places to the east of Cape Wrath, 

 where a few stunted pine trees were observed, but these were not comparable in size to 

 those found elsewhere in the upper forest. 



The drainage system of the district is roughly divided into an eastern and western 

 area by a succession of hills running south from Cape Wrath. 



Three typical sections may be taken from the western area. 



Section I. : — 



Characteristic Plants. 



1 . Scirpus cxxpitosus. 



2. Calluna vulgaris. 



3. Betula alba — small shrubs. 



4. Callvna vulgaris. 



5. Sphagnum. 

 G. Km />■ I rum nigrum. 



7. Saliz reticulata. 



8. Dry hard peat mixed with fine angular sand ; a few 



small fragments of stems, but no other recognis- 

 able remains. 



Rock. 



* The nomenclature of Hooker's Student's British Flora, third edition, is followed throughout. 



1. 

 2. 

 3. 



4. 



Accompanying Plants. 



Calluna vulgaris. 

 Eriophorum angustifolium. 



5. Eriophorum vaginatum. 



6. Sphagnum. 



7. Potentilla Salisburgensis. 

 8. 



