214 The Scottish Naturalist. 



(6.) It happens then that where incidents illustrative of Ani- 

 mal Reason are of such a character as to render it worth while 

 to investigate their authenticity or truthfulness, it is generally 

 possible — with much trouble it may be — to prove to what ex- 

 tent they are based on fact. 



Let me now give a few special examples from my own ex- 

 perience, in support of the foregoing general propositions. 



I know no Newspaper which gives so much, or so frequent- 

 attention to Anecdotal Zoology as the " North British Adver- 

 tiser," an Edinburgh weekly, which contains not only original 

 articles, but plentiful quotations from recently published volumes 

 and serials. I have personally known that newspaper and its 

 proprietors for at least thirty years ; and the nature of this 

 knowledge leaves me in no doubt as to the genuineness of its 

 extracts and the character of its contributors. In January 1875, 

 appeared in its columns certain letters on the " Reasoning 

 Powers of Animals," signed " Mary Mackellar." To assure 

 myself of the character of the writer (whose signature might 

 have been a mere nom de plume), and of the truth of her state- 

 ments, I applied to the proprietors ; with the result that one of 

 them at once wrote me (Feb. 1, 1875) in the following terms : 



"In reply to your memo, of 30th ult. Mary Mackellar is the wife of a 

 sea captain, without family, and frequently accompanies her husband when 

 he goes to sea. She has thus ample opportunity for observing the habits 

 of animals on ship board, &c. Our Editor, who comes in personal contact 

 with her, believes that her narative^ are founded on facts brought under 

 her own observation. Her address is — Mrs. Mackellar, 22 William Street, 

 Edinburgh." 



There are probably no readers of the well-known " Inverness 

 Courier," which, under the editorship of the accomplished Dr. 

 Carruthers — himself an eminent Scottish litterateur, is one of 

 the best provincial newspapers in Scotland, who are not ac- 

 quainted with the letters from its " Nether Lochaber " corres- 

 pondent. Every now and then these letters contain, in the 

 midst of a profusion of Celtic Folk-lore, incidents, obviously 

 founded on personal observation, illustrative of the Intelligence 

 of West Highland birds or other animals. Desirous, however, 

 of being assured of the perfect accuracy of some of the more 

 striking of the statements made by the anonymous writer of the 

 letters, I made application to Dr. Carruthers. The result was 

 the following answer from the Resident in Nether Lochaber 

 himself : — 



