West : Field Botany in Scotland. 



113 



Next day we picked up our botanical treasures, and directed tliem to 

 be forwarded to Glasgow. We started for Blair Athole, noticing on the 

 way a great profusion of Bartramia ithyphyUa and Cystopteris 

 fragilis in tbe chinks of the walls, and in an old sandy quarry we 

 noticed a colony of about a hundred nests of sand martins. We then 

 reluctantly passed Cairn Mairg and Schihallion, and began to notice the 

 beautiful birch woods. The great profusion of Gentiana campestris 

 surprised us as we neared the river Tummel, although we had already 

 noticed it to be a common plant in the Highland vaUeys. We here went 

 through a gale wood, the odour of which we enjoyed, and after crossing 

 the river Tummel we refreshed ourselves with the abundant fruits of 

 E,ubus Id^us, Kamalina fraxinea and Puccinia violse were next 

 found, and as we crossed the hill we walked for miles over Arctosta- 

 phylos Uva-ursi, which was adorned with its beautiful fruit ; Plantago 

 maritima was growing scattered amongst it. In Loch Vach we noticed 

 Lobelia Dortmanna, Potamogeton heterophyllus, Sparganium affine> 

 and a barren Myriophyllum, but had to hurry onward as night was 

 approaching, and we had many miles still to go. As we neared 

 Blair Athole, the enormous quantity of pine trees which were uprooted 

 astonished us. and on enquiry we were told that they were all blown 

 down on the evening of the Tay Bridge calamity. We arrived at the 

 Gleu Tilt Hotel at 11 p.m., and were informed that we could not stay 

 there, as they were " full up but as we left the threshold we met 

 the proprietor, who took pity on us, and succeeded in making an 

 arrangement so that we could stay. This pleased us, as there was 

 only another hotel, which we had understood to be also " full up " as 

 we passed it shortly before. 



Early next day, we started through Glen Tilt, for Braemar, the 

 nearest inn being thirty miles ahead. Carduus heterophyllus, Crepis 

 paludosa, and Eriophorum latifolium were very abundant ; the old trees 

 were decked with Orthotrichum Lyellii, 0. speciosum, Ulota crispa, U. 

 intermedia, and the ordinary fruticose lichens. Ustilago urceolarum 

 and Triphragmium ulmari^ were next noticed, and further on we 

 collected Lecanora rubra, Solorina saccata, Metzgeria pubescens, 

 Plagiochila asplenioides var. Dillenii, Aneura multifida, Jungermannia 

 cordifolia, J. obvata, Nardia emarginata, Scapania subalpina, S. 

 sequiloba, S. undulata, Tabellaria flocculosa, Asterioiiella formosa, 

 Diatoma vulgare, Encyonema csespitosum, Meridion circulare, Cym- 

 bella gastroides, Fragilaria virescens, F. mutabilis, Synedra splendens, 

 Ceratoneis Arcus, Pinnularia viridis, Arthrodesmus convergens, 

 Cosmarium crenatum, C. phaseolus, C. ovale, C. quadratum, and 



