﻿APPENDIX 
  

  

  Since 
  our 
  volumes 
  were 
  put 
  in 
  type, 
  we 
  have 
  been 
  favoured 
  with 
  the 
  

   sight 
  of 
  some 
  MS. 
  notes 
  by 
  the 
  late 
  William 
  Laidlaw, 
  the 
  well-known 
  

   author 
  of 
  the 
  beautiful 
  song 
  1 
  Lucy's 
  Flitting,' 
  and 
  the 
  friend, 
  factor, 
  and 
  

   amanuensis 
  of 
  Sir 
  "Walter 
  Scott. 
  As 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  these 
  notes 
  bear 
  on 
  the 
  

   Natural 
  History 
  of 
  our 
  present 
  area, 
  we 
  have 
  thought 
  them 
  worthy 
  of 
  

   mention 
  here, 
  as 
  they 
  refer 
  to 
  birds 
  actually 
  seen 
  by 
  him, 
  which 
  now 
  

   rarely, 
  if 
  ever, 
  occur 
  there. 
  

  

  William 
  Laidlaw 
  was 
  a 
  Border 
  man, 
  but 
  after 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  Sir 
  Walter 
  

   Scott 
  he 
  left 
  Kaeside, 
  where 
  he 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  resided, 
  on 
  the 
  Abbotsford 
  

   estate, 
  and 
  became 
  manager 
  on 
  the 
  estate 
  of 
  Coul, 
  Ross-shire, 
  after- 
  

   wards 
  going 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  capacity 
  to 
  Balnagown 
  ; 
  he 
  died 
  at 
  Marybank, 
  

   near 
  Balnagown, 
  in 
  May 
  1 
  845. 
  Mr. 
  Laidlaw 
  was, 
  judging 
  from 
  his 
  notes, 
  

   an 
  observer 
  in 
  every 
  branch 
  of 
  Natural 
  History, 
  and 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  kept 
  

   notes 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  regularly 
  all 
  the 
  time 
  he 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  north, 
  but 
  only 
  a 
  

   very 
  few 
  of 
  these 
  are 
  of 
  present 
  interest. 
  He 
  contributed 
  several 
  articles 
  

   to 
  the 
  Annals 
  and 
  Magazine 
  of 
  Natural 
  History, 
  under 
  the 
  initials 
  W. 
  L., 
  

   Selkirkshire. 
  In 
  justice 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Laidlaw 
  we 
  must 
  mention 
  that 
  these 
  

   notes 
  were 
  copied 
  straight 
  out 
  of 
  his 
  note-books, 
  and 
  were 
  never 
  intended 
  

   for 
  publication 
  in 
  their 
  present 
  uncorrected 
  form. 
  

  

  1 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  branches 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  Beauly 
  or 
  Glass, 
  between 
  Inverness- 
  

   and 
  Ross-shires, 
  forms 
  an 
  alpine 
  valley 
  about 
  twenty-five 
  miles 
  in 
  length, 
  

   surrounded 
  by 
  rugged 
  conical 
  mountains, 
  upon 
  which 
  the 
  snow 
  often 
  lies 
  

   until 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  August. 
  Two 
  narrow 
  lochs 
  through 
  which 
  the 
  stream 
  

   flows 
  that 
  descends 
  from 
  this 
  glen, 
  extend 
  together 
  and 
  fill 
  almost 
  twelve 
  

   miles 
  of 
  its 
  length. 
  The 
  whole 
  was, 
  in 
  former 
  times, 
  one 
  continued 
  forest 
  

   of 
  natural 
  fir 
  (Pinus 
  sylvestris), 
  which 
  for 
  many 
  centuries 
  furnished 
  timber 
  

   for 
  the 
  boats, 
  and 
  roofs 
  for 
  the 
  cottages, 
  for 
  the 
  south-western 
  part 
  of 
  Ross 
  

   and 
  the 
  isle 
  of 
  Skye, 
  and 
  for 
  sixty 
  years, 
  until 
  lately, 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  cut 
  and 
  

   floated 
  to 
  the 
  Beauly 
  Firth, 
  so 
  that 
  now 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  forest 
  (in 
  that 
  

   valley) 
  is 
  almost 
  confined 
  to 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  these 
  lochs, 
  but 
  still, 
  for 
  about 
  

   three-quarters 
  of 
  a 
  mile 
  in 
  breadth, 
  it 
  covers 
  the 
  sloping 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  

   mountains 
  on 
  the 
  southern 
  side, 
  and 
  forms 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  extensive 
  

   pine 
  forests 
  in 
  Scotland. 
  Through 
  this 
  the 
  traveller 
  has 
  to 
  fight 
  his 
  way 
  

  

  