FLORA OF SCOTTISH LAKES 
239 
Stormy weather considerably hindered work, so that during the 
time at my disposal I was unable to visit some of the lochs situated 
in outlying places, and difficult of access under any conditions. In 
particular I regret having to omit those in the north of the county, 
within and without the Ayrshire border, because these are less likely 
to have undergone alteration by the hand of man. We will begin 
the examination of the lochs of Wigtownshire at Black Loch, which 
is north of Kirkcowan, and take a zigzag course westward until we 
finish at the lochs that are situated in the neighbourhood of Stranraer. 
In the original paper there are twenty-four illustrations of the lochs, 
etc., of this Area. 
Black Loch is the smallest of a series of three, and is situated 
five miles north-west of Kirkcowan. It is about a quarter of a mile 
long, is surrounded by a treeless moor, and its water is rather peaty. 
The only strip of shore is at the east end ; elsewhere a bank of peat 
separates the water from the moor. The aquatic plants are chiefly 
at the west end of the loch, and bottom-carpeting species, such as 
Littorella lacustris, are scarce. About the margin there are associa- 
tions of Phragmites communis, Scirpus lacustris, Equisetum limosum, 
Carex rostrata, C. filiformis, and Castalia speciosa. There are a few 
common mosses on the shore rocks at the east end, otherwise Bryo- 
phytes are scarce. 
Loch Heron is a somewhat rectangular sheet of water, nearly as 
large again as the last-mentioned, and situated half a mile to the 
south-west of it. There is a plantation of conifers upon the south 
and east shores ; otherwise it is surrounded by cultivated land or 
moor. The water is clear and slightly peaty. The shores are stony, 
or in some places there is a peat bank entering the water without the 
intervention of a shore. There are scattered associations of the 
following plants about the margin : — Phragmites communis, Carex 
rostrata, Scirpus lacustris, and a few sparse patches of Equisetum 
limosum. Littorella lacustris and Lobelia Dortmanna carpet the 
bottom in places, and there is a fair number of other submersed 
aquatics. 
Loch Ronald is close to the last-mentioned, and is about a mile 
long. There is a plantation of conifers on the east side, otherwise it 
is surrounded by agricultural land or moor. The water is very clear, 
and the shores are stony, flat, and from a botanical aspect almost 
featureless, much resembling Loch Ashie in Inverness-shire. Here 
and there a bank of peat 8 or 10 feet high dips into the water with- 
out the intervention of a shore. There are two small associations of 
Equisetum limosum and one of Scirpus lacustris, all at the south- 
west end, and groups of Carex rostrata in the effluent. I was not 
able to obtain the use of a boat, because it had been previously 
