234 THE FRESH-WATER LOCHS OF SCOTLAND 
clothed with wood, chiefly coniferous, to the water s edge ; whilst the 
south shore abuts upon meadow-land. Where the shores are gravelly 
or muddy there is little vegetation, but where boggy the usual 
marsh plants occur. This is the reservoir for the water supply of Castle- 
Douglas, and presents little of botanical interest beyond a few common 
plants, such as associations of Carex rostrata and Equisetum limosum 
upon the south shore. There were, however, two unusual members 
of a shore flora, namely, Hypericum humifusum in dry places, and 
Anagallis tenella on wet sand. 
Loch Erncrogo is about a mile north-east of Ci'ossmichael. It 
is a small loch of the lowland type, about one-third of a mile long, 
and, being more or less surrounded by marsh, there is little shore. 
Outside the zone of bog, rich agricultural land prevails, excepting on 
the west side, where there is a plantation of conifers. The chief 
features here are the great colonies of Carex rostrata, beyond which 
the shallower areas of the loch, particularly at the north end, are 
overgrown with Castalia speciosa, Nympha^a lutea, and Equisetum 
limosum. A large number of other plants grow here also, but 
usually more or less intermingled with one another, and not in 
definite and distinct associations, as frequently happens with some 
species. This, I suppose, is due to the gentle inclination of the 
boggy shore towards the water, and to the general conditions being 
equally agreeable to many species, without being particularly favour- 
able to a few onlv. 
Loch Dornell is also a small loch, and occupies a somewhat 
exposed situation in an agricultural and moorland district two miles 
west of Crossmichael. The water is very clear, the shores are stony, 
and, besides associations of Carex rostrata and Phragmites communis 
in the bays, there is no great development of the littoral flora. 
Nearly everywhere the stony shore has a thin, narrow zone of Juncus 
articulatus, often mixed with Ranunculus Flammula, at the margin 
of the water. 
Meikle Dornell Loch is a small circular pool, half a mile west of 
the last-mentioned, and connected with it by a burn. This little 
loch is surrounded by low hills, and the water is bordered by peaty 
banks, so that no shore intervenes between it and the moor. It is 
almost surrounded by a belt of Phragmites communis. There are 
also a number of other common plants. 
Loch GlentOO is four miles west of Castle-Douglas. It lies in a 
hollow of the moor, and appears to have occupied a much larger area 
at one time, if one may judge by the extent of low marshy ground 
around it. The margins of this loch are treeless, and its water is 
peaty. From the north and west shores outwards, the loch is half 
overgrown with great beds of Phragmites communis mixed with 
