4 A VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF THE MORAY BASIN. 



Sutherland with which we are concerned, viz., the Cassley and 

 the Oykel. It is a magnificent hill, worthy of its name in 

 every way, and, to our mind, can be seen to the greatest 

 advantage from a point near Glencassley or Glenrossal, lower 

 down the Cassley strath. From here there is no hill to intercept 

 the view, and on a clear day, even at that distance — twelve or 

 thirteen miles — every corrie and peak can be clearly seen with a 

 good glass. After leaving Ben More, the \vatershed runs along 

 Breabag, between Sutherland and Eoss-shire, until the low, rounded 

 hills of Cromalt are reached, passing on its way some dreary flows 

 and moorland. 



II. WESTEEN BOUNDAEY CONTINUED TO LAGGAN.i 



The part of Scotland with which we have to deal, roughly com- 

 prises Eoss-shire and that portion of Inverness-shire north of the 

 Caledonian Canal. There cannot be said to be any well-marked 

 backbone, but rather a mass of mountains cut into more or less 

 extensive groups by transverse valleys, the valleys in some cases 

 dividing the mountain masses almost to the sea-level, in others 

 being mere passes over the general ridge, though these are scarce ; 

 the general direction being east and west. The streams on the 

 west side are of much more rapid descent than those on the 

 east ; and the mountains also are of a more rugged and precipitous 

 character. Each group has, as a rule, a special character of its own, 

 but it may be said, on a first consideration, that the mountains 

 are divided into three zones — eastern, central, and western — which 

 take their characters from their rock-structure and the atmospheric 

 influences which have been brought to bear on the rocks them- 

 selves. For instance, the traveller going westward from Dingwall 

 to Stronie Ferry, after passing through the rich and beautiful 

 country of Easter Eoss, where the farms rival the Lothians, plunges 



1 Note. —The following pages, four to twenty, were contributed by Mr. Colin 

 B. Phillip for the purposes of this volume. 



