20 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 



is partly qiiotctl in Irvine's 'A Treatise on the Game Laws of 

 Scotland; pp. 59-GO :— " To the Ei^^ht Worsliipfull, liis much 

 honoured fremd the Laird of Glenorquhy, thes : — ]\Iuch hon- 

 oured Sir, Immediatlie after the receat of your letter on 

 Saturday, I went and shew your Capercailzie to the king in 

 his bedchamber, who accepted it weel as a raretie, for he had 

 never seen any of them before." Signed "Jo. Dickson. 

 Perth, the 3. of Febniar. 1651." 



1G78. In a small pamphlet entitled: — 'A Description of 

 A7U/7CS, translated from the original Latin of Rohert Edvxird, 

 Minister of Murroes — Dundee. Dundee : printed hy T. Colvill 

 — 1793,'^ a passage occurs at p. 17, as follows: — "Angus is 

 well stored with tame fowl and the larger kinds of birds, as 

 hens of Brazil, peacocks, geese, and ducks. Pigeon-houses 

 are frequent. The mountains and heaths abound with par- 

 tridge, groiise* and plover, etc. etc." To this the translator 

 adds the following /oo^no^e ; — " * The word in the original, 

 here rendered 'grouse' — or moor-fowl — is Capricalcis (Ab- 

 lative plural). The translator could not find this word in 

 any dictionary to which he had access." The translator also 

 takes notice in the same footnote, that the last one that was 

 seen was about thirty years ago in Strathspey, and adds : — 

 " It is still an inhabitant of Sweden and Norway, and also of 

 some parts of Wales." Here there is probably again some 

 confusion ; and as regards Wales, true grouse are no doubt 

 intended. 



1684. Sil)bald, in 'Scotia Illustrata; 1684, includes the 

 " Capercalzc. " in his treatment of the subject: — ' De ani- 



^ In the Preface, or, as it is styled, "Advertisement," it is stated: — 

 " Tlie following description of Angus was originally written in Latin, by Robert 

 K^lward, minister of Murroes, and imblishcd in the year 1678, along with a 

 pretty large map of the county, executed by the same hand," The only copy 

 <»f the original wjus found — it goes on to say — about ten or twelve years figo, 

 at the House of Panmure among some loose papers, etc. Dr. J. A. Smith, of 

 Edinburgh, to whom I am indebted for the above extracts, informs mo that 

 the pamphlet is in the Signet Library. Kdinburgh. 



