Mr Har vie- Brown on the Squirrel in Great Britain. 117 



you will be very near the date of introduction by saying about 

 1772, but it is possible that this may yet be definitely fixed." 



Its progress thence can be traced with some amount of 

 exactness, until in 1802, it had spread through most of 

 the forests of Mid-Lothian and East Lothian.* Professor J. 

 Walker, of Edinburgh, writing in 1795, tells us that — " The 

 red squirrel has become extremely common of late years. In 

 this neighbourhood — Glencorse parish — the woods abound 

 with them, and they are pretty numerous at Woodhouselee."*^ 

 Dating a little further back (1791) we find that it " has lately 

 arrived at Penicuik, from the menagerie of the Duke of Buc- 

 cleuch,"j and in the ''Beauties of Scotland "§ (1805) it is 

 further mentioned that " the red squirrel has become ex- 

 tremely common of late years on the banks of the Esk." || 



Tate also puts on record that it spread "to Arniston, 

 about twelve miles from Dalkeith, and thence to Selkirk- 

 shire." IT 



The next notice of it in the county which I can find is 

 not till 1845, when it is stated that "squirrels gambol in 

 all the trees of the larger woods " of Borthwick parish.** 



The " New Stat. Account " is meagre in the extreme in 

 its records of the animal in this county, the short-lived 

 wonder having ceased. 



Of the counties marching with Mid-Lothian, or influenced 

 in the population of squirrels, we may here mention, first : 

 — East Lothian, which, as we have already seen, was well 

 populated by the species by the date of 1802.-f-f 



Then proceeding to counties southward (in which direc- 

 tion the waves of advance of this species appear always, 

 and from whatever centre in the south of Scotland, to be 

 weakest, as we hope to prove as we proceed), westward, 

 eastward, north-westward, and north-eastward (being those 



* Farmer's Magazine, 1802, vol. iii., p. 447. 



+ "Old Stat. Acct," vol. xv. (1795), p. 439. 



t Op. ciL, vol. i. (1791), p. 132. 



§ "The Beauties of Scotland," Edinburgh, 1805, vol. i., p. 284. 



II "Old Stat. Acct.," vol. i., p. 204. 



IF Proc. Beriv. Nat. Club, vol. 1863-68, p. 440, et seq., but read on. 



** "New Stat. Acct.," Mid-Lothian, vol. i., p. 161. 



+t Farmer s Magazine, 1802, I. c. 



