248 THE FRESH-WATER LOCHS OF SCOTLAND 
more or less overgrown with Juncus acutiflorus. This is particularly 
the case at the west side. Along a considerable portion of the east 
side runs the public road from Newburgh to Kirkcaldy. This is shut 
off from the loch by a wall which usually enters the water, and no 
marsh plants occur there. At other places on the east side there is 
a stony or sandy shore, similar to that on the west side, but usually 
with less vegetation. In the middle of the loch there is an island 
formed by a muddy flat, and densely overgrown with Phragmites 
communis. Many submersed plants have a deposit of lime upon 
their leaves and stems, and, as is commonly the case with lochs of 
this nature, filamentous Algje, particularly Cladophora flavescens, 
abound. The striking features of the vegetation of this loch are 
the large quantities of the following plants : — Typha angustifolia, 
Glyceria aquatica, Scirpus lacustris, Phragmites communis, Phalaris 
arundinacea, Polygonum amphibium, Nymphaea lutea. Ranunculus 
circinatus, R. peltatus, and Myriophyllum alterniflorum, all of which 
occur in pure colonies over large areas of the loch, as well as mixed 
with other plants in some of the associations From the middle of 
the east shore a flat peninsula juts out into the loch. This is con- 
siderably overgrown with a number of the above-mentioned plants, 
particularly Typha angustifolia, as well as other species. 
Black Loch is a small oval pool, surrounded by agricultural land, 
about a mile south-west of the last-mentioned. Excepting for a 
portion of the south shore, this loch is so entirelv surrounded by marsh 
that the water cannot be approached. Its water is not peaty, but 
clear and bright, and is entirely encircled by a zone of Castalia 
speciosa and Nympha?a lutea, the latter being next the shore. At 
the south side no other plants occur between these and the gravelly- 
muddy shore, but elsewhere there is a zone of Equisetum limosum 
between the Nymphaea lutea and the land. Here and there all 
around the loch there are associations of Glyceria aquatica on the 
shore side of the Equisetum. In some places, particularly at the 
west end where there is a large bog, the Equisetum limosum is 
followed by Carex rostrata, and that in turn by Juncus efFusus on the 
drier ground. LTtricularia vulgaris abounds in the w^ater. 
Lochmill Loch is beautifully situated amongst the hills two miles 
south-west from Newburgh, which it supplies with water. It is about 
a quarter of a mile long, and half that in width. Low hills with 
grassy or cultivated sides surround it, excepting at the east end 
which is more open. There are plantations of coniferous and 
deciduous trees about the adjacent hillsides. Although peat occurs 
on the higher hills immediately to the south and west, it is doubtful 
if any appreciable quantity of peaty water gains access to the loch. 
There is not much marshy ground, although at the effluent at the 
