142 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



and Minto, as far as Monzie parish.* Though indeed it is 

 somewhat uncertain whether this record and the Crieff one 

 are not due to the overflow from an increase at Methven. -f 



The occurrence, as early as 1821, in St Madoe's parish, in 

 the Carse of Gowrie, is due, I believe, to the pressure from 

 Dunkeld, as will be further pointed out on p. 147. + 



KESTORATION AND INCREASE. 



Perthshire — Continued. — From the Dunkeld Centre. 



We are told that an early introduction took place at Dun- 

 keld some time prior to 1793, for we find it thus recorded in 

 the " Old Stat. Account : " " It was introduced at Dunkeld by 

 the late Duke of Athole, and has unfortunately done much 

 harm to the singing birds ; " § and all the data at my com- 

 mand certainly go far to prove that the Eev. William 

 M'Kitchie of Clunie — the only person, as far as I can discover, 

 who recorded the fact — was correct in his statement. He 

 also adds, that it was beginning to breed in the woods at 

 Clunie, || and in 1798 we find it again recorded that squirrels 

 were numerous in the plantations around Dunkeld. IF Mr 

 Duncan Dewar ** — my correspondent for the Taymouth dis- 

 trict — assures me they were never introduced at Taymouth 

 nor in Bread albane, and that an old man, still alive, and who 

 was born at Taymouth, corroborates this, but distinctly remem- 

 bers the first squirrel he had ever seen, which was at Dunkeld ; 

 and the first ever seen at Breadalbane was in 1828. fi- 



Mr John Macgregor, at Ladywell, informs me that he has 

 heard from old people that the squirrel was introduced at 

 Dunkeld by the fourth Duke of Athole, who succeeded to the 



* "New Stat. Acct.," Perthshire, p. 267. 



t See " Perthshire— from the Dunkeld Centre " (infra). 



X "New Stat. Acct," Perthshire, p. 619. 



§ Op. cit., ix., p. 236. || Loc. cit. 



U Op. cit., XX., p. 439. 



** Mr Dewar has a fine collection of birds and animals shot in the neigh- 

 bourhood, and is an intelligent, able, and careful observer and recorder. 



ft It is only right to notice in this place, that in a somewhat full list of 

 animals of Dunkeld in Campbell's "Journey from Edinburgh to North 

 Britain " (vol. i., p. 270) in 1811, no mention is made of the squirrel. 



