THE FAUNAL POSITION OF SUTHERLAND 
AND CAITHNESS. 
Scotland has been divided by Dr. Buclmnaii-White of Perth 
into twelve defined floral and faunal areas. These are named, 
commencing in the south — Solway, Tweed, Clyde, Forth, Tay, 
Argyll, Dee, Moray, West Eoss, and Sutherland, the Orkney 
and Shetland Isles, and the Outer Hebrides. These faunal areas 
are separated by the natural watersheds and watei'ways, and are 
perhaps more consistent in their peculiarities from a floral than 
from a faunal point of view. We believe, with the majority of 
naturalists, that natural divisions cannot be so arbitrary as arti- 
ficial ones ; and we consider it desirable to indicate, as shortly 
as possible, with which of these twelve natural divisions our 
present area claims to have connection. 
The great dividing range of mountains which forms the back- 
bone of the county stretches northward from the southern boundary 
to the Eeay Forest, and then turns eastward by Ben Hee, including 
all the head-waters of the rivers which run westward as far as 
Ben Stack and Cape Wrath, and those of the rivers which run 
northward between Cape Wrath and the eastern confines of the 
county, and separating both of these from the head-waters of the 
rivers which run into the Moray Firth. We now propose to 
follow this dividing Kne with somewhat more minuteness of detail. 
The watershed between the head-waters of the Kirkaig river 
and the valley of the Oykel is situated between Loch Ellag and the 
county march at Aultnagealgach ; proceeding northward, it runs 
along the sky-line of Braebag and skirts the ridges and corries of 
Coinnebheal, being very boldly defined, especially at the pass 
between Braebag and Ben More, and again at the pass over the 
