4:33 
of Edinburgh, Session 18G4:-65. 
The author then showed the fallacy of the system of phonetic 
etymology, on which the conclusions of Pinkerton, Chalmers, and 
others were based, and that the attempts hitherto made to discri- 
minate between that part of the population speaking a Kymric, 
from that speaking a G-aelic dialect, from the topography of the 
districts, w^as founded upon an inaccurate conception of the facts 
and a false view of the dialectic differences. In especial, he 
showed that the attempt to draw a line of demarcation between 
them from the respective prevalence of the terms Aber and Inver, 
was founded upon an incomplete and inaccurate apprehension of 
the real facts of the case, and was not borne out by the actual 
topography of the country. 
The author then explained a table be had prepared, showing the 
geographical distribution of a complete list of the terms which 
enter into the Celtic topography of Scotland. This table showed 
the number of times that each term occurred in Ireland or in 
Wales, and likewise in every county of Scotland, and to a great 
extent disproved the assumed facts upon which the deductions 
usually made from the topography, are based. 
This table likewise showed that there were four terms peculiar 
to the districts inhabited by the Piets, and these words belonged 
to the Graelic and not to the Kymric branch of the Celtic. 
The author then showed that some of the terms belonged to an 
older form of the language than others, and after giving examples 
of this, he concluded by stating the following as the results of his 
investigation : — 
1. In order to draw a correct inference from the names of places 
as to the ethnologic character of the people who imposed them, it 
is necessary to obtain the old form of the name before it became 
corrupted, and to analyse it according to the phonetic laws of the 
language to which it belongs. 
2. A comparison of the generic terms affords the best test for 
discriminating between the different dialects to which they belong, 
and for this comparison it is necessary to have a correct table of 
their geographical distribution. 
3. Difference between the generic terms in different parts of 
the country may arise from their belonging to a different stage 
of the same language, or from a capricious selection of different 
3 L 
VOL. V. 
