124 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



Towards the north, the first squirrel was seen in Lauder- 

 dale in 1838 or 1839. About ten years afterwards they had 

 increased to a considerable extent, not having been interfered 

 with. Orders were, however, then given to kill them down. 

 This route up Lauderdale appears to me to indicate that 

 the squirrels which appeared at Galashiels in the parallel 

 valley of the Gala also came northward, and cannot be 

 assigned to Dalkeith origin. 



Berwickshire. 



They appeared in Penmanshiel wood, as I am informed by 

 Mr James Hardy, somewhere about 1830-31. This is the 

 largest collection of wood in the neighbourhood of Cock- 

 burnspath, being aboriginal wood planted over. It was noted 

 for its abundance of hazel bushes, but they were cut down 

 and other trees planted. A nest found was the first intima- 

 tion of their presence. They are not, however, numerous 

 even now. 



But at the Hirsel, near Coldstream, in Berwickshire, they 

 appeared not until about 1841, "to the great astonishment of 

 the people in the neighbourhood, who had never seen one 

 before."* At Dunse they were present in 1847, and shortly 

 afterwards at Chirnside. 



Of the former occurrence of the species in Berwickshire see 

 under remarks on " Historical Evidence in Scotland."-)- 



Mr Tate notes that one had been seen at Akeldene " about 

 seventeen years ago " {i.e., previous to 1868) say 1851, which 

 probably was the beginning of them in Northumberland ;X 

 then that they were first seen at Coupland woods about 1858 

 (" ten years previous ") ; and Mr J. C. Langlands reported 

 their appearance at Old Berwick in 1868.§ 



* Tate, loc. cit. t Part II., antea, p. 37. 



t Mr Hardy writes to me, however, that with regard to the introduction of 

 the squirrel into Glendale in Northumberland, bordering the Tweed, he had 

 been told by people at Wooler "that a vehicle carrying squirrels from one 

 part of the country to another had broken down on the public road on Mil- 

 field Plain, and some of the imprisoned inmates escaped ; " but Mr Hardy 

 appears to consider that there may be some invention in this report to account 

 for their sudden appearance. 



§ Tate, op. cit. 



