THE ZOOLOGIST. 



THIRD SERIES. 



Vol. VI.] FEBEUAKY, 1882. [No. 62. 



THE PAST AND PRESENT DISTRIBUTION OF SOME OF 

 THE RARER ANIMALS OF SCOTLAND. 



By J. A. Harvie Brown, F.R.S.E., F.Z.S. 



IV. The Badger (concluded). 



In the South of Scotland the Badger is still far from un- 

 common in certain districts, though of course in numbers not to 

 compare with what were to be found only a few years ago. The 

 Border Counties and those with coast-lines seem to harbour 

 these animals most plentifully at the present time, as the statistics, 

 I think, pretty clearly show. They have sooner become scarce in 

 inland localities, owing, no doubt, to the accessible nature of most 

 of their haunts there, while the more rugged coast-haunts have 

 longest withstood the attacks of the poor Brock's enemies. 



Stirlingshire. — There is plenty of evidence to show that 

 Badgers were abundant in this county, especially along the great 

 central range of hills, which form the highest ground in the county, 

 with the exception of the hills to the east of Loch Lomond, 

 including the lofty Ben Lomond. The 'Old Statistical Account' 

 of the parishes shows this with tolerable distinctness, and a very fair 

 idea of their former distribution may be gathered from the notices 

 of it in that work.* The grouping of the more important localities 



* Some years ago I had been at the trouble of indexing fully the whole 

 twenty-one volumes of the ' Old Statistical Account of Scotland ' for my own 

 use. I afterwards offered this index to the publishers (Blackwood, Edin- 

 burgh), but it was refused, although their own index is far too imperfect 



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