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

Tkansaction.s.35Parishesfrom the Kirkcudbright Museum, viz. : Bor^ue, Buittle,Dalbeattie, Dairy, Girthon, Kelton, Kirkcudbright, Kirkmabreck,Kukbean, Newabbey, Parton, Berwick, Terregles, Troqueer,Twyiiholm, aud Urr.Communications.I. Botanical Notes for 1887. By Mr James FiNGLAND ofThornhill.The season of 1887 will be remembered for its ideal summerweather, which, for at least the months of June and July, was analmost unbroken record of sunshine and genuine warmth Thishot weather, although favourable and enjoyable for outdoor botanicalwork was fiitiguing for long excursions on foot, whilst a certaindrawback was experiencedin the shorter time plants remained inbloom. The rather unfavourable character, too, of the earlvautumn caused an unusually fine season to be also a short oneirom a held botanist's point of view.A notable feature of 1887 was the early flowering of manyplants, which I more especially observed amongst aquatics. Then^termediate form of the yellow water lily, which occurs inGlencairn, was gathered in flower on the 12th of July last. In18bo It was seen in flower on the 28th of August-perhapshowever at a later stage, for which a few days might be deducted\nevertheless, making a marked diff-erence of nearly six weekbetween the two dates.The water lobelia at Loch Urr I obtainedn flower on the 20th of July last, which was just a month earlierthan m the previous year. Some of the Potamogetons or pondweeds,I am sure, came very much earlier too, but I have noprevious dates to compare with. It has occurred to me that theflowering of aquatics might more fairly indicate the character of aseason in regar-d to temperature, these plants not being aff-ected byclrought, which so often hastens the maturing of terrestial vegetaion by stunting the growth, were it not that aquatics problblyderive a stimulus and benefit from direct sunshine whether theatmospheric temperature is of an average warmth or not Theamount of solar heat absorbed by a lake will vary with its depthshallowness. Other affecting circumstances will be found in itsphysical surroundings, situation, or exposure. The matter mayappear to be unimportant. It is not so, however, to a collectorwho wishes to secure specimens valuable for exchange from alocality at some distance.Disappointment may be thus saved by