FLORA OF SCOTTISH LAKES 
247 
parts new lochs have been created by the construction of dams, etc. 
In other places shallow sheets of water, that could be put to no useful 
purpose, have been drained and the sites utilised for agriculture ; 
whilst in a few cases lochs are used as receptacles for sewage. The 
only lochs of this area that retain their natural conditions are the 
smaller ones on the Cleish Hills. 
The Carboniferous and Old Red Sandstone series of rocks, which 
largely prevail, have in former epochs suffered considerable contortion 
from volcanic activities, and large areas are covered with lavas, tuffs, 
and dolerite sills. Suffice it to mention Burntisland Bin, Largo Law, 
May Island, and Norman's Law as eloquent monuments of that period. 
The country is hilly, but not mountainous, yet in many parts the 
scenery is beautiful. Instance the undulating country to the west of 
Loch Leven and of the Howe of Fife, or the charming scenic effect 
produced by the rapid alternation of hill and dale in the neighbour- 
hood of Aberdour, Burntisland, Newburgh, and Newport. Contrast 
the weird monotony of the Hat links of Tents Muir with the bold 
perpendicular crags of May Island. Contemplate the picturesque 
grandeur of the Firth of Tay, equalled but not surpassed by the 
vaster expanse of beauty afforded by the lower reaches of the Firth 
of Forth. Turn from the grimy atmosphere of the sordid mining 
villages, and from odoriferous Kirkcaldy, to the wilder portions of the 
Lomond, Cleish, and the eastern slopes of the Ochil Hills, where one 
is forcibly reminded that Philistia has not yet completely triumphed 
over the rural glories of Fife and Kinross. 
Our inspection of the lochs of Area VII. may begin at Lindores 
Loch, in the neighbourhood of Newburgh, and after visiting others in 
the same district, we cross the county in a south-easterly direction to 
Kilconquhar Loch, near Elie. Thence we travel westwards, following 
a zigzag route, by way of Clatto Reservoir, Carriston Reservoir, Loch 
Gelly, Burntisland Reservoir, I^och Fitty, and others, to the lochs 
situated on the Cleish and Lomond Hills, thence to Loch Leven, 
and finally to the Isle of May. The original paper contains forty 
two illustrations of the lochs, etc., of this interesting area. 
Lindores Loch is situated two miles south-east from Newburgh, 
amidst a beautifully wooded and agricultural country where hill and 
dale follow one another in quick succession. The loch is nearly a 
mile long and half a mile broad. Its water is not peaty, but is 
turbid and dead-looking. In many places there is deep, black, fetid 
mud, upon which submersed aquatics do not seem to flourish well. 
In several places, but particularly at the north-west and south-east 
ends, as well as on the east side, there are large associations of marsh 
plants. In other places there is a narrow strip of stony or sandy- 
muddy shore merging into meadow-land. Such shores are usually 
