224 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



The Sheriff said he was satisfied with the evidence, and 

 found the accused guilty of both charges, and Mr. Galloway 

 asked that the eggs should be forfeited under the Wild 

 Birds' Protection Act, 1902. Continuing, the Sheriff said it 

 was a pity that a person in the position of the respondent, a 

 clergyman, should be cited to answer for having broken the 

 statute law. He had not thought fit to come here to 

 explain the circumstances, and must assume the full guilt 

 that the contravention of the statute was committed wilfully 

 and with the full knowledge of what he was doing. It was 

 absolutely necessary that the law in this respect should be 

 maintained. It would be exceedingly unfortunate if the 

 curiosity or cupidity of any individual should bring about 

 the extinction of the rare species of wild birds that existed 

 in this county, some of them building here alone. He 

 trusted that every endeavour would be made by the officers 

 of the law, and all others interested in the preservation of 

 the rarer species of wild birds, to assist in the detection and 

 in the prosecution of parties who wilfully and deliberately 

 broke the law. He sentenced the accused to pay a fine of 

 ^3, being the full penalty of 1 for each egg, for payment 

 of which in the circumstances he would allow a period of 

 fourteen days after due intimation had been given, and in 

 default of payment to be imprisoned for the period of one 

 month. The Sheriff also ordered the eggs to be forfeited 

 and handed over to the Professor of Zoology in the 

 University of Edinburgh, to be disposed of as he thought 

 meet in the interests of science. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD A FLORA OF 

 CAITHNESS. No. IV. 



By ARTHUR BENNETT, F.L.S. 1 



IN Mr. Grant's (and my own) communication we had to 

 content ourselves with such records as "common, etc." In 



1 No. I. "Scottish Naturalist " (with Mr. Grant), 1888, pp. 305-357 ; 1889, 



P- 97- 



No. 2. "Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.," 1892, p. 247. 



No. 3. " Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.," 'Plants of Stroma Isle,' 1900, p. 108. 



