natural history society of glasgow. 107 



Domestic Animals. 



Of these it is only necessary in this place to speak very shortly. 

 The Dog appears to have been early domesticated in the Long 

 Island, bones having been found in a " Pict's house " in Harris, 

 carrying us back at least 1000 years, and so also with a small 

 breed of Sheep and a small-sized Horse.* 



Bones of Swine have also been found, but their age would 

 appear to be doubtful, t as Martin mentions some facts which seem 

 to cast doubt upon the asserted antiquity of shell-mounds in the 

 Long Island, i 



Of other domestic and semi-domestic animals, it is only necessary 

 to speak here of two. The Wild Goats of Harris have very fine 

 heads and horns, and, as far as wildness goes, are " as wild as the 

 fery Deer themselves," as I was frequently told. I saw several in 

 Harris, either in profile against the sky at the top of the great 

 precipices in the Forest, or making their way along the ledges, 

 where it is not always easy to discover them. The curious Four- 

 horxed Sheep are to be seen upon several of the farms in Harris 

 and Xorth Uist. Mr. Macdonald, of Newton, usually keeps some 

 of them. One which he gave some years ago to Lord Dunmore 

 had five horns, the fifth projecting from the centre of the forehead. 



Of extinct British species possibly we may find a trace of the 

 Wolf, Cards lupus (Lin.), in the name Loch Maddy in Xorth 

 Uist, though the loch is more probably named from the two rocks 

 near its entrance, called Maddie gruamach and Maddie more. 



Remains of the Small Fossil Ox, Bos longifrons, Owen, are 

 referred to by Dr. J. A. Smith, as having been found in a Pict's 

 House in Harris, as noticed by Dr. James M'Bain, B..N., op. 

 cit. in note, supra : or in " Ancient Underground Building at 

 Xeibost in Harris," by Captain Thomas of H.M. Surveying Ship 

 "Woodlark."^ 



* VideProc Royal Philosophical Society, Vol. i., pp. 141-207 — M'Bain. 

 "Notice of various Osteological Remains found in a 'Pict's house' in the 

 island of Harris/' 



t Feilden. Proc. Xat. Hist. Soc. of Glasgow, Vol. II., p. 5S. 



t Op. cit., p. 64. 



§ Proc, Soc. Antiq. of Scotland, Vol. ix., p. 634. — " Notes on the Ancient 

 Cattle of Scotland." 



