6 



MAMMALS. 



Agriculture of the County^ Appendix, p. 38). This is only a few years 

 later than the previous accounts. Mr. William Evans, however, 

 writing in 1892, quotes a correspondent, Mr. M'Keay, gamekeeper, 

 Murthly, as speaking from his own knowledge of it being there in 

 abundance for " over forty years " ; and who adds, that sixty years 

 previously Fleming set its northern boundary at the Moray Firth 

 (say 1832). — Mammals of the Edinburgh District, p. 26. Mr. Milne, 

 Auchenblae, says that the Hedgehog did not appear in the Mearns 

 until the beginning of the nineteenth century, i.e. after Pennant wrote. 



Mr. Milne, in his notes before referred to, describes an albino 

 which he received on the 17th June 1896. The spines on the back 

 and hair on the lower surface white, and indeed all white excepting 

 the ears, nose, feet, and some spots on the forehead, which were 

 blackish. It was taken at Drumtochty. Some of the young got 

 were also partial albinos. 



In the vermin lists of the Perthshire estates of the Breadalbane 

 territories for the years 1890 to 1901, a total of 2880 are accounted 

 for. The greatest numbers were killed in 1891 (370), in 1896 (391), 

 in 1898 (313) ; and the smallest returns are given in 1893 (219), in 

 1899 (262). However, I do not consider that these figiu-es are very 

 significant of their abundance over such an immense tract of country.^ 



Talpa europaea, X. Mole. 



Old Statistical Account, Dowally (vol. xx. p. 472). At the date of the 

 writing of the Agricultural Surveij (1793) Moles were very abundant 

 in the Mearns. 



Mr. Godfrey found it common around the shores of Loch Ericht in 

 1902, and in 1904 he met with the species amongst the rocky sides 

 of Glen Ogle at an elevation of some 1500 feet. This was in mid- 

 summer, or at date of 27th July 1904. 



With reference to Moles taking freely to water and swimming, see 

 Millais' fine work on British Mammals (p. 125) ; also consult an article 

 about Mammals generally taking to water by Dr. Edward Hamilton, 

 amongst which Mole and Hedgehog are included {Annals Scot. Nat. 

 Hist., 1897, p. 67). 



Family SORICIDiE. 



Of Shrews generally we find many records scattered throughout the 



^ Millais speaks of the Hedgehog as very rare in the north of Perthshire " (and in 

 mountainous parts of Argyll and Inverness), and assigns as a reason the difficulty it 

 probably meets with in crossing the mountains. 



