PART II 



MAN'S INDIRECT INTERFERENCE WITH 

 ANIMAL LIFE 



Nothing is foreign; parts relate to whole; 

 One all-extending, all-preserving soul 

 Connects each being, greatest with the least; 

 Made beast in aid of Man, and Man of beast ; 

 All serv'd, all serving: nothing stands alone; 

 The chain holds on, and where it ends unknown. 



POPE. 



FAR beyond the bounds of his original intention man's 

 influence upon Nature has extended, till scarcely a 

 " Beast, bird, fish, insect, what no eye can see, No glass can 

 reach" but has felt the touch of his power. Indeed, balancing 

 the effects of his direct influence against the indirect or 

 secondary results of his interference, one is forced to the 

 conclusion that the latter have been more far-reaching 

 and ultimately more effective in altering the aspect of the 

 countries and of the faunas he has invaded. There is no 

 action in nature but has its equal and opposite reaction. 



To some of these indirect results passing reference has 

 already been made. The introduction of new animals, and 

 especially of domestic stock, has entirely altered the face of 

 Scotland, for it has led to the disappearance of forests, as well 

 as to the lowering of the upper limit of forest growth and to 

 a transformation in ground vegetation. Many native animals 

 have been reduced in numbers or banished from the country, 

 and others have been encouraged to multiply and spread. 



The following chapters, making closer scrutiny of this 

 aspect of man's influence, endeavour to trace the tendencies 

 and extent of the three types of interference with Nature, 

 which, rebounding upon animal life, have made the greatest 

 impress upon the composition and distribution of the fauna 

 of to-day the destruction of the forests, the cultivation of 

 the soil and amenities of civilization, and the develop- 

 ment of commerce with foreign lands. A few additional 

 illustrations of the unforeseen effects of the coming of man 

 will be found in the concluding chapter of this volume. 



