ROSS-SHIRE. 259 



admitted to all parts of it, greatly to their gain in 

 the luxuries of deer life. Alder, Scotch fir, birch, 

 aspen poplar, and holly are indigenous to Braemore, 

 and all these self-planted trees are found in places 

 suited to their requirements. Speculation has ever 

 been rife as to how the vast ancient forests dis- 

 appeared, which at one time so evidently covered 

 so much of the ground that is now heather and moss, 

 and the following remarkable letter appears to offer 

 a better and simpler solution of the problem than 

 any other explanation of the matter. 



Extract of a Letter from George, Earl of 

 Cromartie, to Dr. Hans Sloane, Secy. R. Soc. 



November \$th, 17 10. 



"In the year 165 1, I being then about nineteen 

 years old, and occasionally in the parish of Lochbrun 

 (Lochbroom), passing from a place called Achnascaild 

 in Dundonnell to Gruinard, I went by a very high 

 hill, which did rise in a constant steepness from thence 

 to the sea ; there is a plain about half a mile round, 



