228 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



Concretionary Nodule of carbonate of lime, which had been found 

 in the bed of the Clyde. Remarks were made on these specimens 

 by Mr. John Young, F.G.S. 



Mr. James Steel exhibited (on behalf of Mr. Thomas Scott, 

 Greenock), the following land shells found at the Cloch, viz., 

 Acmaea lineata, Pupa ringens, Vertigo edentula, and Helix lamellata. 

 He also exhibited a specimen of Helix virgata, found at the Central 

 Railway Station, and supposed to have been accidentally conveyed 

 there amongst vegetables or other articles brought from England. 



PAPERS READ. 



I. — Notes on the Mammalia of Buchan. By Mr. William Horn. 



In the following list of Mammals which occur in the district 

 of Buchan, I have enumerated in all thirty-four species. Besides 

 my own notes, I have been very much indebted to Mr. Duncan, 

 gamekeeper at Brucklay Castle, who, in addition to giving me all 

 the information he could, procured some notes from Mr. Thomas 

 Edward, of Banff, and as both have spent the best part of their 

 lives in the district, and are close observers of nature, I could 

 scarcely have had better assistance. Most of the mammals are 

 rapidly decreasing in numbers, while some are extinct. More than 

 thirty years ago the Fox was very numerous in all the covers in 

 Buchan, a dozen having been seen in quest of prey at one time, 

 at a breeding place of the Black-headed Gull. The Polecat and 

 Badger were by no means rare, but are now all but extinct. The 

 Hedgehog and Squirrel were formerly unknown in the district, 

 and old men remember the first appearance of the former, saying 

 that "the prickly beast was thought to be uncanny." After a 

 severe winter, such as we had last year (1880-81), the Hedgehog 

 is always less numerous than usual, many being frozen to death, 

 or suffocated in their winter quarters. The Squirrel has only 

 recently made its appearance, but is spreading so fast that it bids 

 fair soon to overrun all the well-wooded parts of the district. 



My list is very incomplete so far as marine mammals are con- 

 cerned. Many varieties of Seals and Whales have, at different 

 times, been caught or stranded on the Buchan coast, but I find it 

 is very difficult to get anything like reliable information regard- 

 in^ them. For any notes which I have received on this subject 

 I am indebted to the Fishery and Coastguard officers at Fraserburgh 

 and Penman, through Mr. Barclay of Aberdour House. 



