115 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. 
other finds the following may be mentioned:— Veronica 
Montana, Vicia sylvaticu, Rubus saxatilis, Chrysosplenium 
alternifolium, Circcca lutetiana, and other plants which, 
though like these, cannot be called rare, yet indicate that 
the locality is a good one. Another plant—the green 
spleen wort (Asplenium viride) is decidedly rare in this part 
of Perthshire, but used to occur abundantly in one spot in 
Kincardine Glen. Unfortunately the rapacity of fern- 
hunters has nearly eradicated it, but a careful search 
showed that it may still be reckoned as part of the flora of 
the Glen. In addition to plants Kincardine Glen is pro¬ 
bably rich in other departments of natural history, but 
requires exploration. A rather rare land shell ( Helix 
fused) was noticed, as well as some local insects. 
Leaving Kincardine Glen the party took its way by 
roads and across fields to the Heugh of Coul. On the 
way thither some rather interesting plants were observed. 
Among these perhaps the rarest, so far as Perthshire is 
concerned, is the sticky groundsel ( Senecio viscosus), a 
plant not unlike the common groundsel, but covered with 
hoary and viscid hairs. A large patch of this was seen on 
the railway bank, its usual situation in this part of the 
country, and indicative of its introduction with the ballast 
of which the banks are built up. A little further on 
another plant (the goat’s beard, Tragopogon pratensis), 
not uncommon in the Carse of Gowrie, but rare in other 
parts of the county, was found, but, like the above- 
mentioned groundsel, has been probably introduced in 
this locality. A third rather 'local plant was the field 
camomile ( Anthemis arvensis). By the kind permission of 
Mr Smeaton of Coul, the Heugh of Coul was next ex¬ 
plored. “Heugh” means a glen with steep overhanging 
sides, and the Heugh of Coul may be taken as a very 
excellent illustration of the term. The sides are in many 
places precipitous, and in almost all very steep, and, at 
the bottom, the burn, by whose long-continued action the 
ravine has been formed in the trap rocks, pursues its 
varying course, now dashing over ledges, now resting in 
deep black pools or flowing between walls of rock. Not¬ 
withstanding their steepness the sides of the Heugh are 
well clothed with trees, bushes, and humbler vegetation, 
even the perpendicular rocks having in many places a rich 
coating of mosses which revel in the damp shade. With 
considerable skill footpaths have been carried up and 
down the Heugh at various levels, by which easy access 
can be obtained to many parts of it; others are, however, 
quite inaccessible. As in the case of Kincardine Glen, no 
doubt a longer search at a more favourable time of the 
year would reveal the existence of a number of interesting 
plants in this place. The rarest that was found is perhaps 
the sedge Carex muricata, which is a very local plant in 
Perthshire. It was found both in the Heugh and on the 
hillside above it. Other interesting plants were the 
shining-leaved geranium (G. lucidum), with its pretty 
pink flowers; the wood sanicle (Sanicula Europcea), Melica 
uniflora, Crepis paludosa, &c. Amongst trees the elm is 
common, and probably indigenous. After leaving the 
Heugh, the way back to Auchterarder was taken, and a 
few additions were made to the list before the station was 
reached. Amongst these may be noted the English stone- 
crop ( Sedum anglicum), a pretty white-flowered plant 
which, though common enough on the west coast, is de¬ 
cidedly rare on the east. Its distribution in Perthshire is 
rather curious. Near Perth it occurs on Craigie Knowes, 
and thence is found here and there in Strathearn, is 
rather common beyond Crieff, reappears at Killin, and 
occurs at intervals to Eortingall. Auchterarder Station 
was reached just in time to escape the heavy rain that 
wound up the day. On making a census it was found 
that upwards of 230 species of flowering plants and ferns 
had been observed, in addition to a large quantity of 
mosses and fungi. This was considered to be a very fair 
day’s work for the time of year. 
