56 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



But it would appear to be quite against this line of ap- 

 proach, that the earliest squirrels we can hear of in Aber- 

 deenshire came into Braemar from Forfarshire at Glen Tanar 

 and Invercauld in 1857, and very soon after appeared at Old 

 Marr Lodge, near the Linn of Dee, and about the same time 

 in Glen Muick.* Having been long before this at Blair- 

 Athole, it seems scarcely credible that they would not have 

 passed through Glen Tilt, over only ten miles of open moor, 

 sooner than they would have reached Aviemore, a distance, 

 via Struan, Dalwhinnie, and Glen Truim, more than four 

 times that distance, over equally barren ground. We have 

 quite failed to obtain any data whatever which can in any 

 way be said to favour this line of advance. 



The Eev. Lachlan Shaw's record in 1775, and Pennant's, 

 1777,i' dating close to that of the commencement of the plant- 

 ing in Strathspey, certainly seem strongly to support the 

 opinion that they were continuous in the district, and did not 

 become extinct ; and further in evidence of this, we find the 

 general impression of others, — amongst whom Mr George Sim 

 of Aberdeen, — that the squirrel occurred around the head 

 waters of the Don in Aberdeenshire at an even earlier date 

 than it did at Braemar, following the published statements 

 given on the authority of Sir William Jardine. J 



On the other hand, Macgillivray, writing in 1843, says — 

 " In many districts is of rare occurrence ; ... in the 

 northern districts it appears to be unknown." § At that time 

 Sir W. Jardine, at all events, did not appear to be in a posi- 

 tion to testify to its presence, although afterwards, when Mac- 

 gillivray wrote his " Deeside and Braemar," in 1853, he 

 (Macgillivray) said, as before quoted : " Sir William Jardine 

 says it also occurs on the Don." || 



Under Extension of the Species in this district will be 

 found a passage quoted at length, which appears to argue for 



* See under "Extension in Aberdeen," next part, infra. 



+ Lightfoot collected his materials in 1772. Pennant probaWy collected 

 his in 1769, the date of his first tour, and there is every reason to believe that 

 his informant was the Rev. Lachlan Shaw. 



t V. antea, p. 50, foot-note. 



§ V. antea, p. 50, foot-note. 



li ''Nat. Library, " vol. xiii. 



