116 ELGItf. 



hill a great deal, probably not liking to knock their horns against 

 the thick plantations. 



March 24A Showers of snow daily, and hard frost at night. 

 The snipes call a great deal, and the redshanks. 



March 25th. Hard frost in the morning, but warmer during 

 the day. Very cold again at night. The sparrows have been 

 building for some days. The tree-sparrows appear again. They 

 seem to go away in the winter. 



March 29th. Fine. Slight frost in the morning. The 

 tortoise-shell butterfly was flying about to-day. Snipes call in 

 all the marshes. Many of the coots have left the larger lochs 

 for their breeding-places, in small pools, marshes, etc. There 

 appear to be a great many woodcocks in the woods. 



March 30th. A white hare has been seen for two or three 

 days about the Castle of Spynie. 



Kennie sent me a wild swan killed at Lochlee, weight 22^ 

 lb., pure white. 



March 31st. Cold wind, E. 



April 2nd. Eain, but warm. We killed the fox which had 

 been destroying Dr Hanson's lambs. 



Eennie brought me a roundish white egg with a smooth shell, 

 which he found in a rabbit's hole length, 1^ of an inch ; 

 breadth, 1 of an inch, apparently the egg of the tawny owl. 



April 6th. Peewits have commenced laying about Spynie. 

 Along the edges of every pool and ditch near Spynie I see the 

 remains of toads which have been killed and partly eaten. In 

 every instance only the hind legs are eaten. I suppose it is the 

 hooded crow. 



While looking for a shot drake, " Leo " (my retriever) suddenly 

 fell down dead without a moment's illness of any kind, as he was 

 apparently perfectly well to the last instant. 



Very few ducks in Spynie. 



Dr Manson's greyhounds killed two white hares near his 

 house yesterday. A very unusual occurrence to see these 

 animals so far from their accustomed places. 



Found that the dog was poisoned by strychnine. 



