MAMMALS. 



47 



allows of our arriving at any conclusion that they in any way affected 

 the populating of Forfarshire. By 1833 Squirrels had arrived at 

 Glamis, and by 1843 they had become plentiful, and were reported 

 from the parishes of Ruthven and Airlie, also in Kinettle, though 

 seldom to be seen in adjoining parishes." 



Finally, for purposes of this volume, Squirrels appeared in 

 Aberdeenshire, coming from Forfarshire, about 1856. 



Even in 1879 Mr. Paterson of Dalnaglar in Glen Shee considered 

 that though they had appeared there by that time, the glen was 

 too cold for them in winter, and *' that they leave Glen Shee when 

 winter sets in and retire to the lower districts — at least," he adds, 

 " they are not seen till May." 



Here ends the information I had in 1879. 



None of the old accounts have any notice of the animal in Kin- 

 cardine, and Sim is our authority for the first recorded appearance in 

 Dee (v. Fauna of Dee, p. 65). 



In Fife, to return to the south of our drainage area, Colonel H. 

 W. Feilden in a later communication tells me, after repeating his 

 previous account : "I can well remember these matters, as I carried 

 a gun from 1846, and I never shot a Squirrel till I came to 

 Rankeillour in 1850." 



In my larger account of the wanderings of the species through 

 Scotland (p. 157), I think I have conclusively shown that Strath- 

 spey was not in any way indebted to Dunkeld for the increase of 

 Squirrels there, but that this was due to an abundant resuscitation 

 in the district itself, which in turn was due to the great increase of 

 planting which took place there, following the example of those at 

 Dunkeld and Atholl. I also combated the opinion expressed by some 

 of my then correspondents that Speyside was indebted to the intro- 

 duction at Beaufort Castle in Ross-shire (1844), for reasons which I 

 need not repeat (see argument on pp. 157-9 of monograph). 



The winter of 1878-9 was one of extreme severity, and almost 

 suddenly there was a vast increase in the numbers of the Squirrels 

 which were found around in the neighbourhood of Perth and all down 

 the valley of the Tay. 



Some previously noted severe winters were those of 1740-1, when 

 the storm continued for five months; 1795, when 1000s (sic) of 

 sheep perished and some of the shepherds lost their lives. There 

 were also severe winters in 1794-5, 1796-7, and 1798-9. What 



