NATURAL HISTORY IN THE HIGHLANDS and ISLANDS. By F. Fraser Darling. New Naturalist No. 6.

(1947) ND (2008) facsimile reprint. 8vo (150 x 222mm). Ppxvi,303. Colour and b/w photograph plates, b/w line illustrations, maps, extensive bibliography. Green cloth, spine titled in gilt.

This is an excellent and authoritative account of the natural history of the Scottish Highlands and, chiefly, Western Isles. Chapters include: Geology and climate; Relief and scenery; Relief and scenery (continued); The human factor, and remarkable changes in populations of animals; The deer forest, grouse moor and sheep farm; The life history of the red deer; The pine forest, birch wood and oak wood; The summits of the hills; The shore, the sea loch and the shallow seas; The sub-oceanic island; The life history of the Atlantic grey seal; Fresh water sea-lochs and river systems; Conclusion. A revised and extended version was issued in 1964, still No. 6 in the series, with the same dust-wrapper, under the amended title of "The Highlands and Islands." The revision was carried out by John Morton Boyd. Scholarly, reliable and a great read, thoroughly in the tradition of this great series. In 2008 Collins produced facsimile editions of the first ten volumes of the New Naturalist series. All are undated and identical in every respect to the first editions. This is one of those copies.