2 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



' On the Study of Plant Associations ' appeared in " Natural 

 Science" in 1899; and the Scottish Geographical Society 

 undertook to publish in its journal the results of his work 

 on Plant Associations in Scotland. These began to appear 

 in 1900 Midlothian being the subject in July, and Northern 

 Perthshire in August. For each he issued a most carefully 

 prepared map, and a description, no less careful, illustrated 

 by excellent views from photographs. What has appeared 

 may serve in some measure to show how great is the loss 

 sustained by Scottish botany in his death. 



NOTE ON LOCAL VARIATION IN THE COMMON 



HEDGEHOG. 



By G. H. BARRET-HAMILTON, B.A., F.Z.S., etc. 



THE attention of naturalists has of late years been 

 directed to the study of the local variations of animals, and 

 there are certainly few subjects which are likely to produce 

 more useful results in throwing light on the conditions which 

 influence the origin of species. It has been my own lot to 

 touch upon the variations of our common European mammals, 

 with results which are certainly anything but disappointing. 

 One of the first results of my study is the discovery that 

 many of our British mammals are distinguishable from those 

 of continental Europe. 



The common hedgehog (Erinacens europceus. Linn.) would 

 not at first sight appear to be a promising subject for a 

 study of this kind, since its colours are sombre, and 

 do not seem to offer much scope for variation. I find, 

 however, that in the case of the skulls of hedgehogs 

 contained in the collection of the British Museum of 

 Natural History, all those of British may be distinguished 

 from those of continental specimens. I had therefore no 

 choice but to regard the two as distinct subspecies, and in 

 the " Annals and Magazine of Natural History " for April 

 1900, p. 362, I proposed for the British form the subspecific 

 name of occidentals, taking as the type a fine male from 



