I20 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
unite upon an effective plan of concerted action. On most estates 
efforts are made to keep down squirrels. Sometimes as much as 
4d. a tail is paid for them, but in no case is immunity secured. 
The keeping down of squirrels by gamekeepers depends more 
upon the keeper than upon the reward, as it is frequently 
observed that squirrels will abound in woods patrolled by 
keepers, excepting perhaps where there is one keeper who 
takes an exceptional interest in the work, or where there is 
one who has a trained squirrel dog. Dogs are necessary if 
squirrels are to be put down, and the best dog is one trained 
to hunt squirrels only. The need for concerted action arises 
from the fact that one wood occupied by squirrels will infest 
a whole country-side. These facts were accepted as a basis 
for action by the larger number of woodland owners in Ross- 
shire, and in the late summer of 1g02 a meeting of the 
principal proprietors there was held and a Squirrel Club formed. 
The object of the Club was to protect woods from the ravages 
of squirrels, the inadequacy of individual effort to cope with 
the extraordinary damage caused by them being the reason 
for its formation. The Club was originally confined to owners 
of woodlands in Ross and Cromarty, but now its operations 
extend also to the portion of Inverness-shire north of the Cale- 
donian Canal. The rules adopted by the Club were that during 
the months of October and November the woodlands of the 
members of the Club were to be examined by its inspector, 
who was to report to the secretary, through whom all corre- 
spondence would pass. Copies of the inspector’s report would be 
furnished to members. A list of Club squirrel-killers who would 
be open for engagement in the months of November and May 
was to be kept by the secretary. Killers of reliable character 
were to receive a sum of £3 per annum for the keep of a 
trained squirrel dog, and 21s. per week when engaged by 
the Club or its members, half of this wage being payable 
by the Club, and half by the member whose woods were 
reported by the inspector to contain an excessive number of 
squirrels. 
The subscription for the first year was fixed at £1, with an 
additional further subscription of one penny per acre for each 
acre over 200. The result of the first year’s working was 
presented in February 1904, when the subscription was reduced 
by one-half, members whose woods did not exceed 200 acres 
