Vol 6 - Dumfriesshire & Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian ...

Transactions.17HI, Notes on the Flora of IVigioimishire. By Mr JamesM'Andrew, New-Galloway.As an introduction to the following notes on the Flora of^Wigtownshire, I shall say a few words descriptive of the countyItself.A\igtownshire is rhomboidal in shape, of about 30 miles oneach side, and is deeply indented by two large openings of the seaLoch Ryan and Bay of Luce, thus affording a large extent of variedsea-board in proportion to the size of the county, and also renderingthe climate milder and more equable than it would otherwisebe. J^ or instance, fuchsias attaining the size of tall shrubs growluxuriantly in shrubberies through the winter at such places asLogan House.The usual divisions of the county are the Machars, the broadpeninsula ending in Burrow Head ; the Moors, the northern partof the county; and the J^hins, or western narrow peninsula,ihese three divisions are considerably different in characterAt the head of Wigtown Bay, Bay of Luce, and Loch Ryanare extensive tidal sands, and in addition, at the head of LuceBay on the western side, are extensive wind-blown hillocks ofsand bound together by Ammophila arenaria, &c., and on the moorof Genoch making an excellent rabbit warren. The remainder ofthe coast hne is generally irregular, and in some parts, as nearBurrow Head and the Mull, it is rocky and precipitous, while inother parts, as about Port-William, the coast is shingly. Sandybays occur occasionally, and in these are found the best sea shoreplants. Ao county rises so little above the level of the sea asWigtown, yet Its surface is varied by many heights, which on theAyrshire border are about 1000 feet high, while those scatteredthroughout the county are considerably under that elevationof the .striking featuresOneof the county is the great number of freshwater lochs, and another is the wide stretches of marshy mossvand boggy ground called "flows." A great extent of the inlandpart of the Machars, and most of the Moors, is composed of thisunprofitable kind of ground, still undrained. The most fertileP ;" w-,?'' "''"' *^''' '°''"^' '"' ""^ Stranraer, Wigtown, WhithornFort-W\ilham, and the Rhins generally. The most prevalent rockIS greywacke or whiustone of the silunan system, and the soil isgenerally thin, though barley, oats, wheat, beans, &c., are cultivated on the richer ground.The Flora of Wigtownshire, from a botanical, physical, andterritorial point of view, should have been included in that of