300 APPENDIX. 



birch ; of little value, however, except to give shelter to 

 game and sheep, but all having influence on the bird life 

 of the district. 



In mentioning the cultivated districts, no account has 

 been taken of the large tract of country ploughed up and 

 reclaimed by the Duke of Sutherland in the parish of 

 Kildonan, but as yet this has had comparatively little effect 

 upon the fauna of that district. We understand, however, 

 that plantations have been laid out there, and there can 

 be no manner of doubt that, should the trees thrive, a few 

 years will see a marked change in many forms of life. 



In the north and south-west of this district no hills of 

 any importance occur, but in the central districts the 

 country assumes a different character. Entering Suther- 

 land from the Caithness side, we find high ground all 

 along the south-eastern part of the march dividing the 

 two counties, one of the highest points being Cnoc-na- 

 neranach or " the Irishman," as it is generally called, 

 and we have on the same range an altitude of over 

 1300 feet close to the sea above Helmsdale. Most 

 striking of all are the two Bens Griam, rising as they do 

 in solid masses, straight from the wet flat moorland that 

 characterises that part of the county, giving them an 

 appearance of height even greater than that they actually 

 possess, which in itself is considerable, being close on 

 2000 feet. At one time both this hill and the " Irish- 

 man," before mentioned, were inhabited by ptarmigan, 

 but these have now been extinct there for some years, 

 though as late as 1881 a single ptarmigan was shot on 

 some flow ground near the first -mentioned hills, and a 

 bird, probably the same, had been seen on one of these 

 hills during the previous season. 



South-west of the Bens Griam, and second highest of 

 the Sutherland hills, comes Ben Clibrick, 3164 feet. 

 From its rounded shape it does not convey the idea of 

 grandeur and height possessed by many smaller hills, 

 which have more rugged and rocky outlines. It is haunted 

 by every bird and beast that is dear to the Highland 

 sportsmen and naturalist, and was at one time one of the 



