VERMIN 239 



naturalist interpreted as a summons to others in 

 the neighbourhood. Many a night might now be 

 spent in the same place without fear, or hope of 

 such a visitor. 



A golden eagle was observed to swoop down on 

 the ground, and rise again, bearing some animal 

 along with him. Suddenly, he fell a second time, 

 but in a helpless fashion ; and, when the observer 

 approached, he found the eagle's claws fixed in a 

 dead pole-cat, and the pole-cat's teeth fixed in the 

 dead eagle's throat. This was some time ago. 

 Now there is little danger even of the sharp-sighted 

 eagle making such another mistake. 



The last of the four is, on the whole, the mildest 

 and most inoffensive, although he is credited with 

 a partiality for eggs, and young birds. The badger 

 owes his comparative commonness to his night 

 habits, to his deep lair by day, and to his utter 

 disappearance during the winter. He is present 

 in all the Highland counties, and thinly scattered 

 over the Lowlands. Still, he is on the way to 

 extinction, if a little further off. 



The laws on behalf of those forms which have 

 no sporting significance, and are of no commercial 

 value, need amending. The weakness of the 

 present movement is that it largely confines itself 



