326 APPENDIX. 



rocks jutting into the sea suitable for them to lie on. One such place 

 is Lothbeg Point, where Mr. Houstoun of Kintradwell has shot many, 

 the small Firth Seal being the rarer here. They blockade the mouth of 

 the Brora, levying black mail on the migrating salmonida?. 



They also occur in some numbers on Eilean-nan-Roan — off the Kyle 

 of Tongue — where specimens have been seen over 8 feet long. They 

 are most numerous on the outer island. At Souliskeir — to the north 

 of Cape Wrath — they were once abundant, and parties of fishermen 

 used to go from Orkney and from the north Sutherland coast to kill 

 them in October. These raids have ceased in the last fifteen or twenty 

 years, as we are informed by Mr. J. Crawford. 



Harp Seal — Phoca grcelandica (Fabricius). 

 Mr. Houstoun tells us he has killed a specimen of this Seal at Kintrad- 

 well ; we saw portions of its skin after it had been preserved and cut 

 up. This was probably previous to 1870. Mr. Houstoun is an experi- 

 enced seal-shooter, but it is a pity that such a valuable and interesting 

 addition to the British Marine Mammalia should not have been more 

 carefully preserved. Personally, we feel certain that the Harp Seal 

 has occurred several times in Scotland, and have ourselves shot one 

 in the Hebrides, which was, however, lost to us, and we have evidence 

 of others having occurred. Unfortunately, however, none have been 

 preserved. 

 Cetaceae. — Our actual knowledge of the species which frequent or have 

 occasionally visited the Sutherland coasts is still very defective, owing 

 to the difficulties attendant on the pursuit of knowledge in this direc- 

 tion. We have little to add to the last published list of the Cetacean 

 Mammalia, by Mr. E. R. Alston. 



The Porpoise — Plioccena communis (F. Cuvier). 

 Visits the coasts. 



The Pilot Whale — Globicephalus aulas (Trail). 



Also is found on the coasts, and there is one in the Dunrobin Museum. 

 One was stranded on the Melness side of the Kyle of Tongue about five 

 years ago. It measured 15 feet in length. This was about midsummer. 



The White Whale or Beluga — Delphina.plerus leucas (Dall). 

 In 1880 a specimen of this species was repeatedly seen in the Kyle of 

 Tongue in August, as reported to us by Mr. J. Crawford of Tongue 

 House, and there are other records of its occurrence on the north coast 

 of Caithness (cf. Bell, British Quadrupeds, 2d ed., pp. 381-474). A 

 specimen was obtained at the Little Ferry on the 9th of June 1879, 

 having got entangled in the gearing of the salmon stake-nets (P. Z. S., 

 1879, pp. 667-9). It is now stuffed and in the Dunrobin Museum, and 

 another has been captured on the Caithness coast since this Fauna 

 went to press (June 1884). 



The Sperm Whale — Physeter macrocep/ialus L. 



Though not to our knowledge actually captured or authentically recorded 

 on the coast of this county, has occurred on the Caithness coast (cf. 

 Bell, British Quadrupeds, op. cit., p. 418). 



Squirrel — Sciurus vulgaris L. 

 Once present in Sutherland (cf. Sir R. Gordon's Earldom of Sutherland 

 to the year 1630, where it is included in a list of animals found in the 

 county), and became extinct. The latest record we have of the 

 Squirrel occurring anywhere in the north of Scotland which could 

 possibly have belonged to the aboriginal stock, dates 1792 (Old Stat. 

 Account of Scotland (1792), vol. iii. p. 514), which record is repeated word 

 for word in the New Stat. Account, dating 1842. It most probably 

 became extinct after or during the severe winter of 1795, and the 

 subsequent record was merely a statement not brought up to date. 

 As regards its reappearance we quote directly from Harvie-Brown's 



