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The Parent Body meeting on Friday, 6th March is Members’ Night and there will be four short talks illustrating the varied interests of members of the Society.

Mr. Brian Farey of the Photographic Section will present “Kaleidoscope” and “Restoring Plate Glass Slides.”

The excavations at Whitefriars last summer is the subject of Derek Hall, SUAT. The work revealed many additional facts about the House of the Whitefriars at Tullylumb.

Mr. Alan McKenzie shares his holiday experience and entitles his talk “Gaudi - A Genius in Barcelona.”

We then go to West Scotland with Jeff Banks presenting “Killer Whales and Killer Gales in North Rona.”

On Friday, 20th March the Parent Body holds it’s AGM and Sections also conclude their Winter Programmes with brief business meetings.

On Wednesday, 18th March the Archaeological and Historical Section will have a talk by David Bowler, SUAT after the AGM. He will share his visit to Malta explaining its history, architecture and archaeology.

The Botanical Section holds its AGM on Wednesday, 18th March and that is followed by members of the Section considering and discussing photographs taken during the past year.

The AGM of the Ornithological Section is held on Wednesday, 11th March after which Jeff Banks will present “A Darwinian Theme- The Evolution of Birds”.

The Photographic Society will hold its AGM on Wednesday, 18th March and its Presentation of Prizes on Wednesday, 25th March. The final competition judging for the Simpson Audio Visual and Stanley Taylor Cups is on Wednesday, 11th March.

On Wednesday, 4th March at the Photographic Section Paul Yerbury of Redmill will give a digital presentation entitled “The Nude.” Paul is the fourth generation of a family-run photographic business which was founded in 1864 -a unique occurrence. The family has a large collection of cameras of former times and an extensive collection of plate glass slides which have all been digitalised.

The Perthshire Society of Natural Science held its annual Children’s Lecture in Perth Museum and Art Gallery on Monday, 15th December. Pupils from Abernyte Primary, Alyth Primary, Craigclowan Preparatory and Kinnoull Primary and the prize winners of the annual Charles Macintosh Memorial Essay Competition 2008 attended the event.

The President of the Society, Mrs Mary Cairncross, introduced the speaker, Mr Alan Stewart, Wildlife and Environmental Crime Officer, Tayside Police who was appointed in 1993 to the part-time post but since 1997 has worked full time in the post. He spoke to his audience about his work preventing wildlife crime or catching the perpetrators. He gave instances of birds being shot, the work of poachers, the collection of birds’ eggs and illegal trapping. There was also accidental, unintentional damage to wildlife, plastic bags, etc lying about in the countryside.

Proof is required of wildlife crime if there is a court case and Mr Stewart liaises with other wildlife crime officers in Scotland and in some cases with European police. The pupils enjoyed a Fun Quiz to conclude.

During the afternoon Mr Stewart presented their awards to the prize winners of the Charles Macintosh Memorial Essay Competition 2008.The subject of the competition was “A Nature Diary for Four Weeks” and entrants were encouraged to note the habitats of flora and fauna, seasonal changes and weather patterns in an area of their choice. Prize winners were from Abernyte Primary, Alyth Primary and Craigclowan Preparatory.

A vote of thanks was given to Mr Alan Stewart by the President of the Society.

Visit to Markinch and Falkland - July 2008

On Saturday, 5th July members of the Society travelled to Markinch where Mr Bruce Manson of the recently formed Markinch Heritage Group gave a guided tour. Beginning at Markinch Primary School with mention of the Victorian and 20th Century suburbs members were led back in time through the Georgian buildings of the early 19th Century. Mr Manson pointed out architectural features-the crow stepped gables and skewputts at the roofs of several houses. Markinch has an interesting collection of the latter. They are cylindrical with cable or rope carved into the stone. One was carved with leaves and berries.

In early times the site of Markinch was a marshy peat bog surrounding a high dry area. We followed our guide uphill to Markinch Church standing prominent above the town. The Church was a plain rectangular building with a fine square Norman tower and a conical spire added in 1807.The site may well date back to pre-historic times. The early church was dedicated to St. Drosten, a missionary of the 6th Century. In the 11th Century the Bishop of St Andrews granted land at Markinch to a group of Culdee monks. Later it was granted to Augustinian monks and in 1243 the church was re-dedicated to St John the Baptist. The Norman tower of Markinch Church is one of finest in Scotland.
A very interesting feature was pointed out on one of the stones of the church-a group of deep narrow scores .These had been made by early archers sharpening their arrows for archery practice. The Bow Butts lay quite a distance away at the foot of the hill.

Below the church nestled the oldest houses in Markinch where stagecoaches stopped on route to Edinburgh in pre-Railway times. When the Railway boom of the 1840s arrived the railway workers at Markinch found track-laying difficult because of the spongy peat bog. Large quantities of trees were felled to form "rafts" on which the lines were laid.

Whisky-blending and paper making became two of the main industries of Markinch. In 1983 the Haig firm transferred its blending plant to Leven. In the 1830s the water supply to the mills was irregular due to drought, frost or flooding and a canal was formed from Loch Leven with lades to supply the individual mills. Most of the 19th Century mills are now gone. The paper mills of Tulles Russell are the last main users of Leven water.

Our tour ended on the hill of Dalginch, the site of the cemetery. Dalginch is suggested by E.J.G Mackay in 1897 as the capital of Fife in early times where justice was administered and courts held. As a centre of power and administration of justice in the 12th Century it is likely to have had connections with the Earls of Fife.

By the 17th Century, during the reign of Charles II, a burgh charter was secured in 1673 and Markinch became a Burgh of Barony.

After lunch we journeyed to Falkland where a visit to the House of Falkland had been arranged. The house is interesting, fascinating in parts and very unusual. Designed by William Burns in 1839-1844 for Margaret and Onesiphorus Tyndall Bruce it has fine Jacobean ceilings, wood panelling and a magnificent, wide, carved oak staircase. William Burn was a foremost Victorian house architect and the new house is said to have cost £30,000.When first married Margaret and Onesiphorus lived in Nuthill House.

Members and friends of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science met at Jubilee Car Park, Kinnoull Hill, on Saturday afternoon, 27th October. With Mr. John Spittal of the Forestry Commission they moved into the Aitken Arboretum where trees were planted to commemorate two former Presidents of the Society - James Aitken of Orchardbank and Dr.W.H.Findlay, both of whom lived on the lower slopes of Kinnoull.

James Aitken was well known and respected in Perth, Perthshire and beyond as a landscape gardener, having set up business in 1934, the first of it's kind in the area. He was an alpine plant specialist and keen botanist and as a skilled photographer his illustrated talks delighted audiences. As a young man he helped the Rentons to lay out the now famous Branklyn Garden, adjacent to Orchardbank. During World War II he flew with the Pathfinder Force as flight- sergeant and completed 41 missions.

James Aitken died in November, 2003 having been a member of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science for just over seventy years. His contribution to the Society was immense and he served as a member of the Council.

From 1970-1986 he held the office of President. Among his bequests was one of £80,000 for the refurbishment of the Arboretum at Deuchney. The work began in 2005 and after felling, pruning and path forming it is now being planted with young trees.

The current President of the Society, Mrs. Mary Cairncross, explained that the trees chosen for planting were specimens of Crataegus - Paul's Scarlet and Crimson Cloud to commemorate James Aitken.

Six Amelanchier canadensis were then planted to commemorate Dr W.H.Findlay. After studying medicine at Glasgow and holding posts there and in Stirling he was appointed Deputy Medical Officer of Health and Tuberculosis Officer for Perthshire. He was chest physician for Perth and Kinross for 25 years until his retiral in 1970 and in retirement his hobby of photography became his career. Dr Findlay joined the Society in the mid-1950's .He was an active member of the Photographic Section.

In 1960 he became President of the Society, a post he held for 10 years before passing the Presidency on to James Aitken.

As a conclusion John Spittal spoke about the work already done at the Arboretum and the plans for future management. A short walk through the area followed and members were able to see at close hand the lay-out and progress in the area.