166 Fauna of Glencairn. 



21st Februari/, 1902. 



The Rev. William Andson in the chair. 



Donations and Excha?iges. — Proceedings of the Academy of 

 Natural Science of Philadelphia, 1901 ; Birds of Western New 

 York, by E. 11. Easton; Annals of the New York Academy of 

 Science. 



Communications. 



l.^The Fauna of Glencairn. By Dr MARTIN, Holywood. 



Perhaps, after the birds, the most important group to take 

 up is the fauna of a district. By fauna is meant the animals 

 peculiar to a given district or county as distinguished from those 

 that are imported, and, of course, hare no relation to tame 

 animals. The district of Glencairn affords examples of the 

 common wild animals of the south of Scotland, and I do not know 

 that there are any but will be more or less familiar to everyone. 

 We have seen that birds play a great part in the economy of 

 things, and I hope we shall leave this paper with the impression 

 that our hairy and fur-coated friends are not wholly without their 

 use, and not to be classed as vermin altogether — that is, as vora- 

 cious ones that should be wantonly destroyed. Let us try to 

 enter into the spirit of all things in taking up these little indi- 

 viduals, and, besides noting their use, give them a place in the 

 poetry and spirit of every-day existence. 



The fauna of the United Kingdom beyond a few very rare 

 and remotely distributed species i? fairly well distributed through- 

 out the length and breadth of the land, and to mention those 

 found in a single county or even parish includes fairly well the 

 full list, as those that have been noticed in the district of Glen- 

 cairn will show. 



Common Squirrel {Sciurus vulgaris). 



The S(iuirrel is known to everyone probably as much from its 

 amusing habits as from the pleasure and sport most boys brought 

 up in the country have in chasing and pelting him with stones as 

 he escapes from tree to tree, leaping from branch to branch, 

 sometimes with such haste and daring across some yawning gulf 



