PROCEEDINGS—PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. Ixxi 
out in 1796 under the superintendence of his son, the botanist. 
This translation of the New Testament directed attention to the study 
of the Gaelic language, and a correspondence which Stuart, sen., had 
with Samuel Johnson—who advocated the teaching of the language- 
helped greatly in the introduction of the teaching of Gaelic in the 
Schools of the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Know¬ 
ledge. John Stuart, the son, was afterwards minister of Luss, in 
Dumbartonshire. To him is almost certainly due—though we have 
to a great extent forgotten his claim—the discovery of many of our 
alpine plants. Living at Killin, the rich Breadalbane hills were of 
easy access to him; and no doubt his energetic feet carried him to 
many a mountain cliff, where his were the first botanical eyes which 
saw with delight the lovely treasures which have since attracted 
botanists from all parts of the country. It has always been a puzzle 
to me that Ben Lawers—the richest hill of all—is not mentioned by 
name amongst the mountains visited by Stuart. Instead of exploring 
Ben Lawers—7 or 8 miles only from Killin—he seems to have been 
much enamoured of a hill which he calls Ben Teskerney, at the head 
of Glen Lochay. This seems to be the same as Ben Heasgarnich, 
a good hill, but not nearly equal to Ben Lawers. Its name, Tesker¬ 
ney, has possibly arisen from a mixing up of the name of the burn 
which descends from it to Glen Lyon, this burn being the Allt Heas¬ 
garnich. Possibly the “ t ” of the Allt was, in the spoken name, 
supposed to belong to the next word, Heasgarnich. At any rate, 
there is no Ben Teskerney mentioned in the map. 
The list published by Lightfoot was the only botanical one until 
quite recently, when a small book, bringing together all that could be 
gathered on the subject, was published by Mr. John Cameron, 
Sunderland. I met Mr. Cameron in Braemar in 1873, and our 
conversation turning upon the Gaelic names of plants, I suggested 
to him the desirability of a work on the subject. He undertook 
it, and for nearly ten years collected information, the result of his 
labours appearing in 1883. I think we may have the honour of 
claiming Mr. Cameron as a Perthshire man, his father, if I am not 
mistaken, having been a Baptist minister on the north side of Loch 
Tay. In Mr. Cameron’s book not only are the Gaelic names given, 
but other Celtic names, as the Irish and Welsh. No classification of 
the names is, however, attempted, the botanical arrangement being the 
one followed. As, however, we are, on this present occasion, not so 
much concerned with the botany of the subject as with the infor¬ 
mation to be deduced from the names, I purpose classifying the latter 
as follows :— 
1. Names derived from the uses or qualities of the plants. 
2. From the nature of the places where they grow. 
3. From the colour of the flowers or other parts. 
4. From peculiarities in the shape of the leaves, flowers, or 
other parts. 
5. Plants named after persons. 
6. Some names which cannot properly be placed in any of the 
above groups. 
