184) Mr N eill wi the Beavers of Scotland, 
The second instance occurred so late as October last, on the 
estate of Kimmerghame, in the parish of Edrom, near the head of 
that district of Berwickshire called the Merse. Since this estate 
was acquired by the present proprietor Mr Bonar, banker in E- 
dinburgh, he has made important improvements In the course 
of these, he drained a morass called Middlestot’s Bog. Under the 
.peat-moss here, a layer of shell-marl occurs, varying in thickness 
from four to eight feet. Different marl-pits have been opened ; 
and in one of these, the remains of the beaver were found. They 
were situated at the depth of seven feet from the surface, 
under a layer of peat-moss of that thickness. It is remarked in 
a letter from Mr Thomas Dickson, overseer at Kimmerghame, 
to Mr Bonar Junior (who took a lively interest in this in- 
vestigation), that a layer of a kind of loose whitish substance, 
generally occurs between the bed of compact peat-moss and 
the bed of marl. From a specimen sent to Edinburgh, this 
substance appears to consist of several musci which grow in 
marshy situations, much decayed, but among which Sphagnum 
latifolium, S. capillifolium, and Hypnum cuspidatum can be 
readily distinguished. The bones of the beaver were imbedded 
partly in this loose and spongy matter, and partly in the marl 
below. Only the hard bones of the cranium and face, and the 
jaw-bones, retained enough of their firm texture to fit them for 
being removed and preserved in a dry state: Around these, how- 
ever, dispersed in rather a promiscuous manner *, were many 
bones, which, from their size and appearance, evidently belonged 
to the same animal. Several of the long bones and vertebrse, while 
they remained in situ^ seemed perfect ; but on being touched, 
they were found to be nearly in a state of dissolution ; and 
though some were carefully taken out, they speedily mouldered 
down on being exposed to the air, and becoming dry. 
Mr Bonar junior having carried the skull and lower jaw- 
bone to Edinburgh, presented them to Professor Jameson, for 
the College Museum ; and at his request I have drawn up 
this notice. Mr Bonar subsequently transmitted specimens 
of the different layers of the peat-moss, and of the vege- 
* The apparent dislocation of the skeleton is not to be ascribed to violence, 
but to the gradual separation of the parts by unequal subsidence. The appear- 
■ance of the marl, in which delicate shells, of the genera Lymnea and Succinea, can 
-be traced, indicates a long continued state of tranquillity. 
