NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BANKS OF THE TAY. 8 1 
which he brought to Perth.” Mr. Pitcaithly adds that the “Seals are 
nearly all black, with a few grey ones—the latter I consider the old 
ones. I think dynamite would be the best method of destroying 
them.” 
I would emphasise the fact that we are much in need of specimens 
of Seals in the Museum. Another species, the Gray Seal, locally 
known as the Black Seal i^HalichcEriis gryphus, Fah.), occurs in the 
Firth of Tay, but I have no evidence that it ascends the river to 
our district. Possibly the Grey Seals mentioned by Mr. Pitcaithly 
may belong to this species. 
Porpoise {Phocoena communis, F. Guv.)—Another marine mammal 
which ascends the river, occasionally as far as Perth Bridge, in 
pursuit of salmon. 
Two of the cetaceans should be included in the list, but, as the 
species were not identified at the time that the specimens were killed, 
it is now impossible to say what they were. One was a species of 
Dolphin, which was caught in a salmon net near Seggieden. The 
evidence for the other species rests on a tradition that seven Bottle- 
Nosed Whales attempted to ascend the Lade where it enters the 
Old Ffarbour, and that the largest one, which was leading, was 
unable to turn, and was killed by a carpenter from, a neighbouring 
shipyard. The name Bottle-Nose is applied to several of the smaller 
cetaceans. Possibly the species, if it was not the Common Porpoise, 
may have been the Pilot Whale {Globicephalus'melas, Trail). 
Red Deer [Cervus elaphus, L.)—Common near Taymouth, and 
stragglers probably occasionally visit the banks of the Tay, as they 
have been seen near it in the low grounds of the district. From the 
bones that are now and then found, Red Deer were probably common 
in the Carse of Gowrie in prehistoric times. The Fallow Deer 
{Cervus dama, L.), which is not a native, is semi-wild on the banks 
of the river near Dunkeld and Taymouth. 
Roe Deer {Capreolus caprcea, Gray).—Common in wooded parts 
of the district. 
Squirrel {Sciums vulgaris, L.)—It is now abundant, as it was also 
probably in past ages. At one time, however, it seems to have be¬ 
come rare, if not altogether extinct, but it was re-introduced by the 
Duke of Atholl at Dunkeld in 1776, and became common in a few 
years. 
Brown Rat i^Mus decuma 7 iiis, Pall.)—Though not an inhabitant 
of Britain before about the middle of last century, and possibly not 
of Perthshire till near the end, it is now too well known. 
House Mouse {^Miis miisciilus, L.) 
Long-Tailed Field Mouse {M. sylvaticus, L.) 
Common Field Vole (Arvicola agrestis, De Selys).—All common. 
F 
