Account of a botanical excursion to the Mull of Cantyre, and the island of Islay, in August, 1844 / by J.H. Balfour.

  • Balfour, John Hutton, 1808-1884.
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Account of a botanical excursion to the Mull of Cantyre, and the island of Islay, in August, 1844 / by J.H. Balfour. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    or Tussack grass, might be successful in this situation, both from the nature of the climate and the proximity to the sea. Should this grass be introduced into the country, the peaty soil on the western islands of Scotland would probably be that best fitted for its growth. In this way the waste lauds of these localities might be made, without preparation, to afford excellent pasture, as well as protection to cattle. This grass was noticed in the Falkland Islands during the recent antarctic expedition. A short account of it was published by Sir William Hooker, * and his son, Dr. Joseph D. Hooker, will give a full description of it in his admirable Antarctic Flora, part of which is already published under the patronage ef Government. The plant is called Tussack or Tussac grass, from the lower part of its culms forming a tuft or tiissaclc. The stems rise to the height of four to six feet, and the leaves hang down all around. It is perennial, and pro- duces large leaves, and an enormous quantity of herbage, which is saccharine and nutritious. The cattle in the, Falkland Islands are i-emarkably fond of it. The plant thrives best in a wet, peaty soil, in insular situations where the spray of the sea dashes over it. Judging from the soil and climate in which it grows, there is every reason to believe that it might be most advantageously sown in the western islands of Scotland. Seeds have been sent home to this country, but only a few of them have germinated. Those sent to the Glasgow garden have not sprouted. Besides the Tussac, Festuca Alopecurus of D’Urville or Aruiido Alopecurus of Gaudichaud, also deserves to be noticed as an important Falkland Island grass found in peat-bogs. The climate of Islay is well adapted for oats, and much of the peaty soil might be rendered highly productive. Wheat also thrives in some places, but this crop probably requires a warmer summer than occurs in the island in general. On the sandy sliores at Laggan we found Convolvulus Soldanella, and in the fields Lamium intermedium and Fumaria capreolata; while the banks of the river furnished luxuriant specimens of Hieracium umbellatum, sylvaticum and boreale. The last-mentioned species has been usually regarded as a form of H. sabaudum, and is figured as such in English botany. It is distinguished by its upper leaves being sessile, with a round base, not with a cordate-clasping base, as in sat baudum, involucral scales appressed in three regular rows, and uniform in colour. In the woods near Ealabus and Islay House, which we examined con cui vi si eseguiscono le Colmatc, di G. A. Manetti. Firenze, 1 ho system of Colmation was fully explained by Professor Gordon at one of our late ' Conversational Meetings, and its application to such localities as Lochar moss, near Dumfries, was pointed out in an interesting manner by Mr. Smith of Deanston. Hooker s Notes of the Botany of the Antarctic Expedition. See also The Gar- dener’s Chronicle for March 4th, 1844; and London .Tournal of Botany, Vol. II., p. ‘247.