A FEW DAYS AT FIELD BOTANY IN SCOTLAND. 



(Concluded.) 



By Wm. West. 



We could not but notice the wonderful difference in verdure between 

 the top of Ben Lawers, which is composed of mica schist, and the tops 

 of those mountains like the Ben Nevis and the Cairngorm range, which 

 are composed of granite or felstone. The latter have the appearance 

 to those who are not botanists of a perfectly barren expanse of 

 extremely rocky ground, while the former is green to the very top. 

 One of the prettiest things we found was Solorina crocea, which is 

 fairly abundant above 3,500 feet ; Salix herbacea, our tiniest British 

 shrub, was also common at the same altitude, and in one place 

 attacked by Khytisma salicinum and Lecythea saliceti — the orange 

 colour of the latter contrasting well with the pitchy patches of the 

 former. Alectoria lanata, Umbilicaria cylindrica, and Schizosiphon 

 cataractse were also gathered. 



From the top we had as fine a view as it is possible to have from 

 this hill, it being quite as charming, but not so extensive, as the one 

 we had enjoyed from Ben Nevis. We could not resist the temptation 

 to forsake our botany again for a while, in order to improve our know- 

 ledge of geography by means of the map and compass. We here 

 witnessed a thunder-storm on a neighbouring hill, and began to fear 

 that we should be quickly enveloped in it ; but it just cleared us, and 

 we commenced the descent. The afternoon had passed on so quickly 

 that we had not time to visit the best localities, such as the " famous 

 corrie," the borders of the loch, and the rocky amphitheatre above it. 

 However, as we descended towards the loch (always keeping consider- 

 ably to the right of it, to avoid the weathered trenches in the peat, 

 whose nature we were well acquainted with), we gathered Hieracium 

 nigrescens, Carex puUa, Juncus biglumis, J. triglumis, Aira alpina, 

 Armeria maritima, Andreasa petrophila, An^ctangium compactum, 

 Mnium subgiobosum, and Hypnum exannulatum. On rocks below the 

 loch we gathered some fine Hedwigia ciliata and Antitrichia curtipen- 

 dula, which are often found interlacing each other, and a little further 

 down we were quite enchanted by the delightful appearance of the 

 masses of dwarfed Nephrodium Oreopteris, which decked the borders 

 of a tumbling rill. We reached the road as it was beginning to get 

 dark, and got into the Fortinghall Inn by 10-30 p,m., just as a few 

 large raindrops began to fall. We had hardly sat down before a 

 heavy thunderstorm came on, the rain falling so quickly as to make 

 the road look like a stream for a short time. 



