FLORA OF SCOTTISH LAKES 
237 
quarters of a mile in length, with a maximum breadth of half a mile. 
This loch is the reservoir for the water supply of Dumfries, and the 
water is clear, not peaty. An extensive, deep marsh at the south end, 
which has been cut off from the loch by a dam, is overgrown with 
common plants. The shores of the loch are mostly stony, and it is 
surrounded by cultivated land. It presents very little of botanical 
interest. The three last-mentioned lochs occupy bleak, wind-exposed 
situations in an area of active agriculture, and the scenery around is 
tame and uninteresting. 
Lochaber Loch is eight miles north-east from Dalbeattie. It is 
surrounded with low hills, the lower slopes of which are wooded, 
chiefly with coniferous trees, to the water's edge, excepting on the 
west, where the country is open and agricultural land prevails. The 
water is slightly peaty, and the marginal flora is poor in variety. 
At the south-east end there are associations of Scirpus lacustris, 
Equisetum limosum, and Carex rostrata, none of which grow so tall 
and luxuriant as might be expected from the lowland situation. At 
the west side, where the shore is boggy, there are associations of 
Phragmites connuunis, but the specimens are dwarfed, also of Carex 
rostrata, Equisetum limosum, Castalia speciosa, and Menyanthes 
trifoliata. Otherwise the somewhat flat and stony shores are either 
bare of vegetation, or sparsely clothed with a few common plants. 
Auchenhill Loch,, which is four miles south of Dalbeattie, is the 
smallest of a group of four lochs. It is about a quarter of a mile 
long by one hundred yards wide, and is a typical lowland pool 
situated amidst pleasant pastoral scenery. There are no trees at its 
margin, but it is more or less surrounded by a zone of Phragmites 
communis, behind which there is a border of marsh merging im- 
perceptibly into meadow. In front of the Phragmites a belt of 
Castalia speciosa almost encircles the loch, and behind the former an 
area of bog, overgrown with the usual marsh plants, surrounds the 
whole. 
Barean Loch is about half a mile east of the last-mentioned, but 
it is considerably larger, and has an irregular outline. The water is 
rather peaty. It is picturesquely surrounded by low^ hills, some portions 
of which are cultivated, while the remainder consists either of moor or 
of wood ; the margin of the loch is also well wooded. It is more or less 
surrounded by a sedge or reed marsh, composed chiefly of the following 
species : — Scirpus lacustris, Phragmites communis, Equisetum limosum, 
and Carex rostrata. A number of common submersed aquatics occur 
in the water, amongst which may be especially mentioned Apium 
inundatum, because it grows here to a depth of 7 feet, and reaches 
the surface from that depth, although in such deep water it does not 
fruit freely. 
