492 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 
Class and Order. | Britain. Scotland. Edinburgh. 
BaTrRacHIA— 
1. Ecaudata, . ‘ 4 3 2o0r?3 
2. Caudata, . ‘ 3 3 3 | 
ORS sels : 7 6 5 or 26 | 
The area dealt with in the present paper is the same as 
that described in my paper on the Mammalia, communi- 
cated to the Society in 1891. The difficulty of obtaining 
specimens or reliable information regarding the less common 
species, has made it next to impossible for me to work out 
their actual distribution quite as thoroughly as I could have 
wished, but enough is known to enable me to indicate their 
faunal status with sufficient accuracy for all practical pur- 
poses. 
In former days, when the country was largely covered 
with copsewood and heathery moors, and dotted over with 
lochs, pools, and marshes innumerable, we may be sure our 
indigenous Reptiles and Batrachians existed in corresponding 
abundance. Reclamation and tillage, however, have gradually 
restricted and destroyed their natural habitats. Yet the 
effect on the Batrachians has not been so disastrous as at 
first sight might appear, for the construction of artificial 
ponds, ditches, quarries, and so forth, has provided them 
with fresh haunts. On the other hand, the Reptiles—at any 
rate those with the serpentine form, so repugnant to the 
generality of mankind, and therefore leading to their de- 
struction whenever possible—have, except in some outlying 
districts, been long reduced to the point of extermination, 
so that in these days the most timid may wander for 
many miles in all directions around the city without the 
slightest fear of the Adder’s “sting.” Even the sight of a 
harmless Slow-worm now seldom gladdens the eye of the 
naturalist. 
As has just been remarked, there is every reason to 
suppose that in bygone days, most if not all of the Reptiles 
