930 



MooKLAND Grazing. 



[Jan., 



which has since disappeared. The present herbage is stated in 

 Cohimn 1 of the Table on page 933. This Table was drawn 

 up after a rough survey made in July of this year. The value 

 of most of the plants noted was dealt with by Professor Wallace 

 as far back as 1884,* and touched on more recently in his book 

 on " Heather and Moor Burning." The amount of heather 

 noted on the Eigg was very small, and the heather is evidently 

 a new plant. The cross-leaved heather is rather more abundant. 

 The " Blaeberry," as the Bilberry is known in the North, shows 

 up here and there, and is more scattered than the two plants 

 above mentioned. On the moors beyond and at heights of from 

 1,800 to 2,000 ft. is found the Cloudberry (Ruhus Chamoemorus). 

 The bulk of the herbage is made up of Flying Bent, Stool Bent, 

 and the Hair grasses. Draw-moss (Sheathing Cottonsedge) is 

 abundant here and there, and Wire Bent is found to a slightly 

 lesser extent. The common rush shows up in the wetter places. 

 Bracken is present, densely covering a considerable area, and 

 is spreading. The remainder of the plants indicated in Col. 1 

 are found in smaller amounts; of these. Crested Dog's Tail, 

 Sheep's Fescue, Yorkshire Fog, Sweet Vernal and Annual 

 Meadow Grass are most in evidence. 



The list in Col. 1 was made during a walk over the Eigg, and 

 some plants may have been overlooked, although a careful 

 search was made for clover. None was observed. There is clover 

 about half a mile away, where lime was applied fifteen or twenty 

 years ago. As will appear below, clover has been developed in 

 very considerable quantity on the thirteen acres of the Eigg which 

 have been improved by heavy stocking. On similar moors .in 

 Northumberland, at about the same altitude, occasional clover 

 plants are found, small and starved, appearing to be almost 

 unequal to the struggle against the " fog." 



Col. 2 gives the names of the plants which appear on the 

 improved area. From a considerable distance away the plot 

 stands out sharply defined from the surrounding Eigg, by reason 

 of its fresh, green appearance. In July, when the botanical 

 survey was undertaken, the contrast which this plot made against 

 the brownish hue of the untreated moor was very noticeable. 

 On entering the enclosure the abundance of wild white clover is 

 most striking. This plant is making vigorous growth on almost 

 all parts of the area, even pushing its way through clumps of 

 Tussock where, in places, the vigour of this coarse grass has been 



*"The Natural and Artificial Food of Scotch Hill Sheep." Trans. 

 H. & A.S., 1884. 



