MAMMALS. 



influence these had directly upon the Squirrel population can scarcely 

 now be satisfactorily traced, but it must be remembered that the 

 areas of wood and shelter at these early dates AA^ere far more 

 circumscribed than they are now at this later date of 1878-9, and at 

 the present time (1904). And now, as I write — early winter weather 

 in November followed by an open winter, but by a cold spring and 

 late but warm summer — it remains to be seen whether we can 

 trace any effects, and have them more carefully recorded than was 

 the practice a hundred years ago, or even has been the practice 

 among our professional meteorologists^ — that is to say, whether our 

 meteorologists will see their opportunities of putting causes and con- 

 sequences on a more satisfactory and more scientific basis than the 

 mere bare returns of dry- and wet-bulb statistics. (See some remarks 

 on this point further on under Song Thrush, p. 62.) 



Mr. William Evans has, in his Mammals of the Edinburgh District, 

 conclusively shown that the Squirrel breeds in spring, and it is now 

 indeed many years ago — somewhere about 1860 — that I became well 

 aware of it, having myself taken young Squirrels from the " drays " in 

 Torwood Castle grounds, some of which I kept alive. 



Mr. J. Milne gives distinct evidence of the carnivorous pro- 

 pensities of this animal, and indeed such may surely now be generally 

 known by field naturalists and accepted by closet naturalists without 

 further discussions in the papers. 



Squirrels are mentioned in many of the vermin returns. I give 

 those of Atholl as having some general interest in our work just 

 now. Between 1891 and 1903, 3069 were paid for. The most 

 were killed in 1897-8, viz. 426 ; then 419 in 1900-1 ; and 402 in 

 1901-2. The smallest numbers were got as follows : 186 in 1903-4 ; 

 224 in 1894-5 ; 255 in 1899-1900 ; and 270 in 1902-3. 



In a list of vermin killed on Drumtochty, of date 1904, 108 

 Squirrels are included. This Mr. J. Milne designates as "rather 

 surprising, considering that it is more than fifty years since I first 

 saw them here. The first I saw were in the woods of Charleton, near 

 Montrose, about the year 1856, and since that date they have been 

 seen here year by year. They have increased very much." Since then 

 Mr. Milne has told me, however, that an old forester — wood-forester 

 — told him that he had seen them on Fasque ten years earlier, say 

 1846, than he (Mr. Milne) had seen them. Mr. Milne adds : " That 

 being so, it is very possible they had been here as well." Millais has 

 twice seen a Squirrel swim the Tay, and once one came down the 

 stream upon a log, but in this case it was evidently quite in a fright 



