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CELLANY,

The south-west wall , in it, tradition points r of the apartment in tunate Charles I. was lifice is said, by Mr been rebuilt by Anne but this appears to be a princess only built anor it, which was in good fter the palace was in lately been sold, barba1, in order to serve as a

remarkable ruin in Dunvever, and that which forms ominent object in the view n our frontispiece, is the t held the first rank among is houses of this country, at calth, sanctity, and the faccessive sovereigns. Its tion is usually ascribed to 'anmore, and its completion Alexander I. It certainly a sacred edifice in the eleury, as appears from its .It is assigned, by the oice of tradition, as the buof Malcolm, and of five other uccessors. These are stated, bert Sibbald, to have been

I, David I, Malcolm, IV, er III, and Robert I. Dif›mbers of their families, and hed noblemen, are also said been interred in the same place.

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operations of sowing; but vegetation
has been considerably checked by
nightly frosts.

21.-26. The fish-market is at present copiously supplied with fresh cod, ling, halibut, and turbot, taken off the East Neuk of Fife, by boats from Cellardikes, Craill, and other towns on the coast. Scarcely a single haddock comes to market. On the 23d, smelts, or stirlings, appeared on

the stalls.

Botanic Garden. This unfortunate garden, on the neglected state of which we have, for the last two years, been Occassionally commenting, has sus tained an additional misfortune in the loss of its superintendent, Mr Thomas Sommerville. This promising young man, after having lingered for many months in a gradual decline, died on the 17th instant, at the early age of 27. He possessed very considerable abilities, both as a professional gardener and as a botanist; and had he lived, would doubtless have distinguished himself in this latter respect.

While the situation of superintendent is thus vacant, it can give no of fence, we should suppose, if we remark upon the insufficiency of the salary. Forty years ago, the keeper of the Botanic Garden may have found himself "passing rich with forty pounds a-year." But that such a pittance must now be utterly inadequate, is too evident to require illustration. In this country there is little difficulty in finding men of merit in the gardening profession: indeed Scottish gardeners are held in repute all over the empire. Several excellent cultivators and keen botanists have, during the last ten years, issued from the Edinburgh Botanic Garden itself. To become Superintendent of the Physic Garden of Scotland is justly accounted a horticultural and botanical honour. But it is hard to ask a person to leave a situation where he receives from L.60 to L.100, and to offer him The "feather in his

L. 40 a-year.

cap" will not, in these times, make up for the deficiency. The perquiuncertain, and, we understand, cansites of the place are very trifling and not be reckoned worth more than L.10 a-year. We must repeat our conviction that a pressing representation of the real state of matters, made in the proper quarter, would procure a grant of L.600 or L.800 per annum, for the maintenance of this Royal suitable salary might be awarded to a Establishment; and out of this sum a superintendent. If the larger sum were might be kept; and there would, we obtained, several additional workmen including several stoves and green are certain, in a garden of such extent, houses, be found constant employment for at least five or six. At present, we believe there are seldom more than three. This want of hands we ascribe only to the want of funds; for certainly that number must be found inadequate to the ordinary duty of the place.-We may add, that the hotstate formerly complained of: and houses remain in the same ruinous that unless the roof of the dry-stove be speedily raised, the fine dragonblood tree, the largest and most elegant specimen in Europe,-must push its head through the glass; when it will probably perish by the united influence of the cold and wet.

Edinburgh,

26th March 1810.

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Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural
History Society.

AT the meeting on 3d February,

fore the Society a sketch of the minethe Rev. Dr Macknight laid beralogy of the Highlands of Scotland, from the pass of Leny to Balahelish. The general rock in this tract of country is mica-slate, with its usual suborhornblende-slate, &c. pinate beds, as of granular-limestone, It contains al

SO

so, in some districts, beds and veins of lead-glance, and indications of ironglance. Beyond Tyndrum, the micaslate approaches to gneiss, till we pass Inverouran, where sienite appears.-In the neighbourhood of King's House, newer granite, felspar-porphyry, and hornstone are found; and the adjacent Ben Nevis is an overlying country, as might be expected from massive formation, which rests on the decomposition of these rocks, pre- gneiss and mica-slate, approaching in sents, for many miles, an unusual assome places to clay-slate. In this pect of bleakness and sterility. Glen- formation, compact felspar is the leadwhich is singularly interesting, ing ingredient. The inferior mass both in a picturesque and in a minera- consists of sienite, passing from the logical point of view, consists of horn- simple-granular to the granular-porstone and compact felspar, in beds phyritic; and the upper-portion of the subordinate to the primitive rocks, mountain, comprehending the summit, and capped with porphyry. At the with about 1400 feet of the perpendibottom of Glencoe, mica-slate again cular height below it, is composed of appears, and is covered with the for- a dark-coloured rock, which for the mation of clay-slate, which affords the most part is porphyritic, and seems to well-known slate-quaries of Balahelish. be intimately allied in its characters to Thus it appears, that the relative posi- compact felspar. This appears from tion of the great formations which oc- the gradual transition of the one subcur in the Highlands, correspond to stance into the other, which is distinctly principles of the Geognosy. observed under the tremendous preciAt the same meeting, Professor pice of Ben Nevis to the N. E., and Jameson read some observations on demonstrates the identity and contithe universality of rock and metallife- nuity of the whole formation. The as formations, preliminary to a short colouring matter appears to be hornaccount of some specimens of a parti- blende, intimately mixed with the cularformation of lead-ore, found with substance of the rock. At first view ip fifteen miles of Dunkeld, in Perth the whole mass might be considered. shire. The formation appeared to be as a formation of clinkstone and poralmost the same with that which oe-phyry-slate. But a more minute incurs at Stromatian in Argyleshire; and vestigation discovers many oryctoit is therefore not improbable that it gnostic characters of distinction from hay prove a source of wealth to the the sesubstances, which are less crystalproprietor. line, and belong to a more recent era of formation.

of Strontian and Ben Nevis. The rocks which compose the districts of Strontian, are mica-slate, gneiss, and granite; and the lead-glance, which occurs in gneiss, is associated with iron-pyrites, cross-stone, calc-spar, foliated zeolite, strontian, and heavyspar.

At this meeting also the Secretary read some new and interesting observations on the natural history of the Common Greenland whale, by Mr Wm. Scoresby, jun. of Whitby; and exhibited a correct drawing of that animal by the same gentleman, differ ing materially from the figures hither10 published.

At the meeting of this society on the 10th March, the Rev. Dr Macknight read a paper on the Mineralogy

At the same meeting Dr Arthur Edmondston read an account of the peculiarities, of the Zetland sheep, with remarks on their diseases. And

the Secretary read a communication from Lieut.-Colonel Imrie, describing a vein of greenstone which occurs in Glencoe, and which appears to have been overlooked in the mineralogical descriptions of that district.

Memoirs

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