Wanderings of a A^aturalist 



cautiously searched — north, east, south, and west. But no 

 stags were seen here, although on the far side of the glen 

 several lots were spied. 



From some scree beneath us a fox hurried, his long, bushy- 

 tail a conspicuous object as he made his way to safety. 



Away southwards the air was very clear. Schiehallion, that 

 serves as a landmark throughout almost the half of Scotland, 

 was just mist-capped, and between us and it the Highland 

 express could be seen hurrying south along the down-gradient 

 between Dalnaspidal and Struan. Westward the clouds hung 

 low, and from time to time misty showers swept across the 

 lops. 



Just beneath the hill-top, and sheltered from the wind, 

 the conditions were summer-like. On the hill opposite — 

 Cunach — a number of hinds and two small stags were grazing 

 on the skyline. One of the stags from time to time rushed in 

 and rounded up the hinds in a lordly manner. But his lord- 

 ship over the herd was probably of short duration, for by 

 evening an older stag must almost certainly have driven him 

 off and taken possession of the hinds. 



A hurried descent brought us once again to the shores of 

 Loch an Duin, and from here a very steep climb up Cunach 

 was negotiated in under scheduled time — for valuable hours 

 had been lost on the Dun, and the short October afternoon 

 was drawing in. The going was easy — over recently-burnt 

 heather — and I was shown a strip of ground burnt as recently 

 as the past April, where the young heather plants were already 

 growing fresh and strong. In this case the fire had not eaten 

 far into the ground, with the result that the heather had come 

 again from the root. Where the whole plant is killed and 

 regeneration is dependent on seed, a number of years may 

 elapse before any new growth is apparent. Curiously enough, 

 the belief is prevalent amongst a good many stalkers that 

 burnt heather never comes again from the root. 



From the hill-top at least two good stags were seen just 

 across the march between the two forests. The wind's direc- 



i66 



