39 



1424. The late Prof. Cosmo Innes, however, pointed out to me 

 that too much trust must not be given to these documents, as 

 the lists of commodities appear in some cases to have been adopted 

 from similar English or foreign enactments. Boethius includes 

 Fibri among the wild animals which were found round Loch Ness 

 " incomparabile numero" {llegn. Sc. Desc, 1527, fol. ix.), and 

 Bellenden follows him, but, as usual, little or no reliance can be 

 placed in his testimony, which was probably founded on hearsay. 

 Traditions of the " Broad-tailed Otter " survive in many parts of 

 the Highlands, and the animal is said once to have been plentiful 

 in Lochaber (Neill, I.e.); but it was probably extinct long before 

 the time of Boethius. 



CONCLUSION 



In bringing this article to an end, I would wish to point out to 

 Scottish field-naturalists that the distribution of Mammalian life 

 requires revision, especially in the Islands. The Shrews, Mice, 

 and Yoles especially deserve attention, as does the supposed 

 occurrence of the Greenland and Ringed Seals in Scottish waters. 

 More accurate records of the visits of the rarer Cetaceans are 

 much to be desired, and the gradual extension of range of some of 

 the terrestrial Mammals, as the Hedgehog, Mole, Squirrel, and 

 Roe-Deer, deserve careful investigation. Till further information 

 has been collected on these points our knowledge of our native 

 Mammals cannot be considered satisfactory. 



Finally, I desire to express my special thanks to my friend, Mr. 

 J. B. Murdoch, of Langside, for his kind assistance in seeing the 

 foregoing pages through the press. 



