XXXvi PROCEEDINGS—PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. 
Perthshire, and is widely known, not only for its sylvan beauty, but 
also for its high geological interest. 
“ The Balruddery Burn, which in some parts of its course forms 
the boundary line of the county, has, in the upper reaches of the den, 
cut its way deep into the beds of the Old Red Sandstone. These 
beds consist of a fine-grained dark bituminous sandstone, with a 
somewhat uniform dip to the south-west. 
“ The members of the Society, who were joined by geologists 
from Edinburgh, Stirling, and Dundee, found, on arriving, that Mr. J. 
Martin White had made complete arrangements for a day’s thorough 
digging. Two of the estate labourers were told off to excavate the 
rock at various parts of the escarpment. It may be interesting to 
mention that the elder of the too, “Ned Inches,” who has been 
a servant on the estate for many years, had assisted Hugh Miller in 
his explorations, as well as the savants of the British Association 
who visited the den in 1867, when the Association held its meeting 
in Dundee. Guided by the old man, operations were begun at the 
points excavated by Hugh Miller, but, unfortunately, the fossil finds, 
though interesting, were not very numerous. One of the party, 
however, succeeded in finding a complete specimen of Mesacanthus 
Mitchelli , Eg., about three inches in length. Another find was a 
complete impression of Climatius ,* a fish closely allied to the 
Diplcicanthus and Acanthodes of the same formation. The only 
other fish remains discovered were detached scales and spines of 
these and other allied ganoid fishes. A number of good specimens 
of Parka decipiens were also laid bare. It is interesting to record 
that geologists have had to revert to the old theory of Hugh Miller 
regarding Parka . He figured and described it in his well-known 
“Old Red Sandstone” as the spores of a plant which flourished 
when the silts and sands of these ancient times were being laid down. 
This theory was discarded for many years, the theory of his 
successors being that it was either the ova of a fish or of a crustacean, 
probably Pterygotus angelicas. It is now ascertained by microscopic 
sections to be undoubtedly the spore sacs of a plant, thus proving 
the astuteness of the old geologist. Many impressions of vegetable 
remains were also found. These it was impossible to determine 
at the time. 
“ Digging operations were completed during the afternoon, and 
thereafter some of the members were taken over the gardens and 
glass-houses by Mr. Cairns, the head gardener. One of the most 
interesting plants under glass was Monstera deliciosa, a member of 
the aroid family, of which the Lily of the Nile is one of the best 
known representatives. The spathe of Motistera is as large as a 
good-sized trumpet, and of a beautiful cream colour, with a spadix 
as thick as a child’s arm. The other section of the party, under 
the guidance of Mr. White, were invited to Balruddery House to 
examine the collection of fossils gathered by himself, and to inspect 
the magnificent organ recently^fitted up there on the Hope-Jones 
* This has been identified by Dr. R. H. Traquair as Climatius reticulatis, 
Agassiz. 
