XXX 



DESCRIPTIVE CHAPTERS. 



tions of the clusters of lochs which form the head-waters of the 

 Tay system, and flow by Lochs Ba and Laidon and the river Gaoire 

 to Loch Rannoch, and the Tummel to the river Tay. To the south, 

 the Moor of Rannoch is bounded by the high spurs of the main ridges 

 which encircle the long valleys of the Lochy and the Lyon. 



Passing over the watershed near Tyndrum (820 feet), where the 

 railway crosses to descend to Loch Awe and to Oban, we come to the 

 south-west continuations of the Grampians, and find that the 

 boundary limits continue to be well marked. At Crianlarich the 

 West Highland Railway crosses the watershed between Tay and 

 Clyde, at the head-waters of the Falloch Water, at an elevation of 

 some 600 feet. And near this point also begins the separating 

 mountains which divide the drainages of Clyde and Forth. 



Continuing onwards in an easterly course, the mountainous 

 character is still marked, and though the whole drainage of the 

 mighty mass of Ben More (3845 feet), flowing from every side, 

 belongs to Tay, still the sister mountain of Stobinnean (3827 feet) 

 is the true sentinel of both Tay and Forth, its surplus waters finding 

 descents to both these natural areas, md Lochs Doine and Yoil to 

 the Teith and Forth rivers, and md the J3ochart to Loch Tay. 



Thence eastwards the mountains begin to lower in altitude, but 

 still have dominant peaks and summits to heights of 3000 feet — 

 such as Ben Vorlich (3224 feet) and Stuc a Chroin (3189 feet) in 

 tlie Glenartney Forest, and Ben-y-Hone or Ben Chonzie (3048 feet) 

 near Crieff, which latter however is really well within Tay, and 

 contributes all its drainages on all sides to Tay, vid the Earn and 

 Almond. This, with the much lower watersheds eastwards through 

 the plain of the Vale of Allan and the Lower Earn, and the ridges of 

 lower elevation of the Ochil Hills, finally running out at the Fife- 

 Ness on the coast of Fife, constitutes the remaining portion of the 

 boundaries of Tay. In this part the salient point seems to me to be 

 the very low ridge which separates the head-waters of the Allan 

 Water from the east-flowing tributaries of the Lower Earn near 

 Auchterarder. This ridge, where crossed by the Caledonian Railway 

 near Crieff Junction, is about 400 feet above sea-level, and therefore 

 cannot offer any very serious obstruction to the migratory flights of 

 birds which, it is well known, pass thus from Tay to Forth and on- 

 wards through the Vale of Menteith to Loch Lomond and Clyde. 



