Flora of Scottish Lakes. 
133 
1909-10.] 
Auchenreoch Loch is 6 miles north of Dalbeattie, at an elevation of 
345 feet above sea level, and it is surrounded by agricultural land. It is 
about a mile long, and varies in width from 600 yards at the south-west 
end to 100 yards at the north-east end, the greatest depth being 34 feet. 
The water is clear, and not peaty. The main road from Dumfries to Castle- 
Douglas adjoins the east shore of the loch throughout its length. At the 
north-east end there are associations of Scirpus lacustris standing out in 
the loch ; nearer the shore a large area is covered with Phragmites communis, 
behind which there is a marsh, with the usual plants. These conditions 
extend for some distance down the loch towards the south-west end. At 
other places there is a narrow strip of stony shore, with meadow beyond, or 
there is scarcely any shore, grass-land coming down quite to the water. 
Milton Loch is situated about a mile east of the last mentioned, at an 
elevation of 410 feet above sea level. It is over a mile long by £ mile 
wide, and has a maximum depth of 15 feet. The outline of the loch is 
very irregular, and it is surrounded by agricultural land. The water is 
clear, and not peaty. The shores are flat and stony, and merge impercep- 
tibly into meadow or arable land, except where bordered by trees or public 
roads. There are no associations of marsh plants entering the loch ; such 
as occur are merely a few species as stragglers over the stony shore, Alisma 
ranunculoides being one of the most abundant. Chara fragilis, var. delicatula, 
and Chara aspera, var. subinermis, must be very abundant, as considerable 
quantities of both species were washed up on the shore. 
Lochrutton Loch is situated at an elevation of 305 feet above sea 
level, 3 miles east of Loch Milton. It is a little smaller than that loch, 
but has a maximum depth of 58 feet. This loch is the reservoir for the 
water supply of Dumfries, and the non-peaty water is clear. An extensive 
marsh at the south end, which has been shut off from the loch by a dam, is 
overgrown with common plants, the chief of which are Scirpus lacustris, 
Phragmites communis, Phalaris arundinacea, Spiraea Ulmaria, Carex rostrata, 
Alisma Plantago, and in the water, Potamogeton natans and P. heterophyllus. 
The shores of the loch are mostly stony, and it is surrounded by cultivated 
land. The flora of the littoral zone is scanty, and presents nothing of 
particular interest (fig. 57). 
The three last-mentioned lochs occupy somewhat bleak, wind-exposed 
situations in an area of active agriculture, and the scenery around is tame 
and uninteresting. I am unable to give a full account of the submerged 
flora of any of these lochs, because during the period of my visit the con 
tinuous storms of wind made the use of a boat for my purpose impossible. 
From an examination of the refuse washed upon the shores, I imagine the 
