1018 Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [sess. 
these lochs are mostly rocky and stony ; where littoral marsh 
plants are found, they always occur on the western side, or in 
sheltered hays. Carex rostrata, C. aquatilis, Equisetum limosum, 
Eriophorum vaginatum, and E. polystachion are the plants that 
dominate such sites ; all other marsh plants are hut poorly 
represented. Carex rostrata grows most luxuriantly, in fact the 
largest specimens I have seen were at these lochs. Equisetum 
limosum also grows well in some of the lochs ; hut I have 
observed that when growing near the Carex rostrata they scarcely 
grow taller than the latter, whereas in the lowland lochs they 
grow twice as high : no doubt this is due to the stronger action of 
the wind at this elevation. On 11th July, at midday, the temper- 
ature recorded at Lochan na Stairne, elevation 2154 feet above 
sea level, was as follows : — 
Bright sun all the morning ; fresh N.E. wind. 
Air temp, (thermometer swung in the air), 65 ’2° F. 
„ „ under the shade of a peat bank and facing wind, 
59*5° F. 
„ „ on the heather in the sun, 6 ins. from ground, 72° F. 
Water at S. end of loch, 65*4° E. 
„ „ 1ST. „ „ 56*8° E. 
„ „ half way down the loch, F. 
„ „ N.E. end in a sandy bay, 50'4 3 F. 
,, ,, the same bay, but at the estuary of a burn from Dubh 
Lochan, 67 '5° F. 
„ „ a spring on the shore half way down the loch, 43 ‘2° E. 
The difference of 8*6° between the S. and N. ends of the loch 
being due to the -N.E. wind driving the upper strata of warm 
water to the S. The low temperature recorded at the sandy bay 
was probably due to a wide gully, down which the wind came 
with considerable force, driving back the upper strata of warm 
water. The water of a loch S.E. of the last mentioned, but about 
200 feet higher, after brilliant sun all day, registered 64*5° F. at 
9.15 p.m. Air temperature, 53’8° F. I am not able to give 
winter temperatures, but the record would no doubt be very low. 
There is no boat on any of these lochs ; I was therefore unable to 
gain much information regarding the bottom flora. Besides the 
previously mentioned, the following plants occur, mostly of dwarf 
