with thick haze, and small rain, infomuch, that we could not have feen the land at the distance of a fhip's length. The gale was now increased to a form; in this dilemma, nothing remained but to endeavour to keep off the fhore, till the wind should change. Luckily, our fhip was a ftout one, and well rigged.

Reflecting fome time after on the circumstances of this ftorm, and the phænomena that preceded it, I determined to have particular at tention to future Aurora, and the weather, that should fucceed them; and, as I have above obferved, in twenty-three inftances, have found them uniform, except in degree: the gale generally commencing between twenty-four and thirty hours after the first appearance of the Aurora. More time and obfervation will probably discover whether the ftrength of the fucceeding gale is proportionate to the fplendour and vivacity of the Aurora, and the diftance of time between them. I only fufpect, that the more brilliant and active the firft is, the fooner will the latter occur, be more violent, but of fhorter duration, than when the light is languid and dull. Perhaps too, the colour of the Aurora may be fome guide in forming a judgment of the coming gale. That which preceded the ftorm I have mentioned, was exceedingly fplendid. The tempeft fucceeded it in lefs than twenty-four hours, was violent, but of fhort (about eight hours) continuance. In June laft, a little without foundings, we had, for two nights following, faint, inactive Aurora; the confequent gale was not hard, but lafted near three days; the first day attended with

haze, and small rain; the second with haze only, and the last day clear.

The benefit which this obfervation, on the Aurora Borealis, when further confirmed and known, may be of to feamen, is obvious, in navigating near coafts, which tend eaft and weft, particularly in the British channel. They may, when warned by the Aurora Borealis, get into port, and evade the impending ftorm; or, by stretching over to the fouthward, facilitate their paffage, by that very ftorm, which might have deftroyed them; for no winds are fo dangerous, in the channel, as foutherly and fouthweft. In a word, fince I have made this obfervation, I have got out of the channel, when other men, as alert, and in fafter failing fhips, but unapprized of this circumftance, have not only been driven back, but, with difficulty, have escaped fhipwreck.

Perhaps, the observation, that foutherly gales conftantly fucceed thefe phænomena, may help to account for the nature of the Aurora Borealis. My own thoughts on that fubject I fhall, fome time, beg leave to lay before you.

I am, with great refpe&t, Sir,
Your obliged humble Serv.
J. S. WINN.

grain, and hard folid wood; the other, a white wooded fir with a much smaller proportion of refin in it, of a coarser grain, and a foft fpungy nature, never comes to fuch a fize, and much more liable to decay. At first appearance, this would readily denote two diftin&t fpecies, but I am convinced that all the trees in Scotland, under the denomination of Scotch fir, are the fame; and that the difference of the quality of the wood, and fize of the trees, is entirely owing to circumstances, fuch as the climate, fituation, and foil they grow in. The finest fir trees, appear in the most mountainous parts of the Highlands of Scotland, in glens or on fides of hills generally lying to a northerly aspect, and the foil of a hard gravelly confiftence, being the natural produce of these places; the winged feeds are fcattered in quantities by the winds, from the cones of the adjacent trees, which expand in April and May, with the heat of the fun; thefe feedlings, when young, rife extremely close together; this makes them grow ftraight, and free from fide branches of any fize, to the height of 50 or 60 feet before they acquire the diameter of a foot: even in this progrefs to height, they are very flow, occafioned by the poornefs of the foil, and the numbers on a fmall furface, which I may fay makes them in a conftant ftate of war for their fcanty nourishment, the ftronger and talleft by degrees overtop ping the weaker, and when the winds blow they lafh against one another; this affifts in beating off any horizontal branches that might damage the timber with knots, as well as by degrees crushes the overtopped trees. In fuch state of hof

tility they continue ftruggling un. til the mafter trees acquire fome space around them; then they be. gin to shoot out in a more bufhy manner at the top, gradually losing their spiral form, increafing afterwards more in fize of body than height, fome acquiring four feet diameter, and above fixty feet of height to the branches fit for the finest deal board. The growth is extremely flow, as is plainly proved by the fmallness of the grain of the wood, which appears diftinctly in circles, from the centre to the bark. Upon cutting a tree overclose at the root, I can venture to point out the exact age, which in thefe old firs comes to an amazing number of years. I lately pitched upon a tree of two feet and a half diameter, as this is near the fize of a planted fir of fifty years of age mentioned, and I counted exactly two hundred and fourteen circles or coats, which makes this natural fir above four times the age of the planted one. Now as to planted firs, thefe are raised firft in dreffed ground from the feed, where they ftand two feafons or more, then are planted out in the gronnd they are to continue in at regular diftances, have a clear circumference round them for extending both roots and branches; the one gives too quick nourishment to the tree which fhoots out in luxuriant growths, and the other allows many of the branches to fpread horizontally, fpoiling the timber with knots; befides, this quick growth occafions thefe thick yearly circular coats of wood, which form a coarse grain, of a fpungy foft nature. The juices never after ripen into a proportional quantity their refinous prefervative balm; to that the plantations decay before the wood ac

quires age, or a valuable fize, and the timber when used in work has neither ftrength, beauty, nor duration. I believe the climate has likewife a great fhare in forming the nature of the best wood, which I account for in the following manner. The moft mountainous parts of the Highlands, particularly the northerly hanging fituations, where thefe fine fir-trees are, have a much fhorter time of vegetation than a more foutherly expofure, or the lower open countries, being fhaded by high hills from the rays of the fun even at mid-day for months together; fo that with regard to other vegetables, nature vifibly continues longer in a torpid ftate there than in other places of the fame latitude. This dead ftate of nature for fo long a time yearly appears to me neceffary to form the ftrength and health of this particular fpecies of timber. No doubt they may at first show a gratefulness for better foil and more fun by fhooting out fpontaneously; but if the plant or tree is so altered by this luxury that it cannot attain any degree of perfection fit for the purposes intended, the attempt certainly proves in vain.

From what is faid above, it is not at all my intention to diffuade from planting Scotch fir, but to encourage thofe that have the proper foil and fituation to do fo, being of opinion that where thefe circumftances agree, and there, planting not in lines, but irregularly and thicker than common, the trees will come to be of equal fize and value with the natural ones. In confidence of this, I have planted feveral millions on the fides of

hills out of reach of feed from the natural firs.

Defcription of Loch-Lomond. From Pennant's Tour.

Och-Lomond, the laft, the

Loft beautiful of the Caledo

nian lakes. The first view of it from Tarbat prefents an extensive ferpentine winding amidst lofty hills; on the north, barren, black, and rocky, which darkens with their fhade that contracted part of the water. Near this gloomy tract, beneath Craig Rofton, was the principal feat of the M'Gregors, a murderous clan, infamous for exceffes of all kinds; at length, for a horrible maffacre of the Colquhouns, or Cahouns, in 1602, were profcribed, and hunted down like wild beafts; their very name fuppreffed by an act of council; fo that the remnant, now dispersed like Jews, dare not even fign it to any deed. Their posterity are ftill faid to be diftinguished among the clans in which they have incorporated themselves, not only by the redness of their hair, but by their ftill retaining the mischievous difpofitions of their ancestors.

On the weft fide, the mountains are cloathed near the bottoms with woods of oak quite to the water edge; their fummits lofty, naked and craggy.

On the eaft fide, the mountains are equally high, but the tops form a more even ridge parallel to the lake, except where Ben-Lomond*, like Saul amidst his companions, overtops the reft. The upper parts

were black and barren; the lower had great marks of fertility, or at leaft of industry, for the yellow corn was finely contrasted with the verdure of the groves intermixed with it.

This eaftern boundary is part of the Grampian hills, which extend from hence through the counties of Perth, Angus, Mearns, and Aber deen. They take their name from only a fingle hill, the Mons Grampius of Tacitus, where Galgacus waited the approach of Agricola, and where the battle was fought fo fatal to the brave Caledonians. Antiquarians have not agreed upon the particular spot; but Mr. Gordon + places it near Comrie, at the upper end of Straithern, at a place to this day called Galgachan Moor. But to return.

The road runs fometimes through woods, at others is expofed and naked; in fome, fo fteep as to require the fupport of a wall: the whole the work of the foldiery. Bleffed exchange of inftruments of destruction for those that give fafety to the traveller, and a polish to the once inacceffible native.

Two great headlands covered with trees feparate the firft fcene from one totally different; the laft is called the Point of Firkin. On paffing this cape, an expanfe of water burfts at once on your eye, varied with all the fofter beauties of nature. Immediately beneath is a flat covered with wood and corn : beyond, the headlands ftretch far into the water, and confist of gentle rifings; many have their furfaces covered with wood, others adorned

with trees loosely fcattered either over a fine verdure, or the purple bloom of the heath. Numbers of islands are dispersed over the lake of the fame elevated form as the little capes, and wooded in the fame manner; others just peep above the furface, and are tufted with trees; and numbers are fo difpofed as to form magnificent viftos between.

Oppofite Lufs, at a small distance from fhore, is a mountaine us ifle almoft covered with wood; is near half a mile long, and has a moit fine effect. I could not count the number of islands, but was told they are twenty eight: the largest two miles long, and ftocked with deer.

The length of this charming lake is 24 Scotch miles; its greateft breadth eight: its greateft depth, which is between the point of Firkin and Ben-Lomond, is a hundred and twenty fathoms. Be-. fides the fish common to the Lochs are guiniads, called here poans.

At this time were living at the little village of Lufs, the following perfons, most amazing inftances of cotemporary longevity; and perhaps proofs of the uncommon healthiness of the place. These compofe the venerable lift :

Rev. Mr. James Robertfon,
minifter, aged

Mrs. Robertfon, his wife
Anne Sharp, their servant
Niel Macnaughtan,

90

86

94

kirk

86

officer Chriftian Gay, his wife Walter Maclellan

Remains

Remains of the wild Cattle, which were the native Race of the Country, Bill preserved in the Duke of Queensbury's Park at Drumlanrig.

It was a bored of wild

N my walks about the park

cattle, derived from the native race of the country; and ftill retain the primeval favagenefs and ferocity of their ancestors: were more shy than any deer; ran away on the appearance of any of the human species; and even fet off at full gallop on the leaft noife; fo that I was under the neceffity of going very foftly under the shelter of trees or bushes to get a near view of them: during fummer they kept apart from all other cattle, but in fevere weather hunger will compel them to vifit the out-houses in fearch of food. The keepers are obliged to fhoot them, if any are wanted: if the beaft is not killed on the fpot, it runs at the perfon who gave the wound, and who is forced, in order to fave himfelf, to fly for fafety to the intervention of fome tree.

These cattle are of a middle fize, have very long legs, and the cows are fine horned: the orbits of the eyes and the tips of the nofes are black; but the bulls have loft the manes attributed to them by Boethius.

Defcription of the Basking Shark, a Species of the Whale kind; from the fame.

a fish fo rarely to be met with in other parts of Great-Britain; and find it a perfect monster, notwithftanding it was much inferior in fize to others that are fometimes taken; for there have been inftances of

their bring from thirty-fix to forty

feet in length.

This was twenty-feven feet four inches long. The tail confifted of two unequal lobes: the upper five feet long, the lower three. The circumference of the body great ; the skin cinereous and rough. The upper jaw much longer than the lower. The teeth minute, disposed in numbers along the jaws. The eyes placed at only fourteen inches distance from the tip of the nofe. The apertures to the gills very long, and furnished with firainers of the fubitance of whalebone.

These fish are called in the Erfe, cairban: in the Scotch, fail fish, from the appearance of the dorfal fins above water, They inhabit moft parts of the western coasts of the northern feas: Linnæus fays within the artic circle: they are found lower on the coafts of Norway, about the Orkney ifles, the Hebrides; and on the coaft of Ireland in the bay of Balishannon, and on the Welsh coafts about Anglefea. They appear in the Firth in June in fmall fhoals of feven or eight, continue there till the end of July, and then difappear. They are most inoffenfive fish; feed either on exanguious marine animals, or on alge, nothing being ever found in their ftomachs except fome diffolved greenish matter.

fome days before, and lay on the fhore, on the oppofite fide of the bay. Crofs over to take a view of

ter, and feem quiefcent as if afleep. They are very tame or very stupid; and permit the near approach of

G4

man;