The Influence Of Man On Animal Life In Scotland

Originally published in 1920, this book contains lectures on the subject of the impact of humanity on the animal population of Scotland. Ritchie examines how the presence of man affected the local fauna, either through deliberate manipulation, such as domestication and hunting, or as an indirect effect of actions such as deforestation.

Excerpt from The Influence of Man on Animal Life in Scotland: A Study in Faunal Evolution The animal life or fauna of a country is no fixed unit of occupation, established and unchanging, but, endowed with the plasticity of life, it carries in itself the imprints of many influences which have played upon it throughout the ages. The lectures contained in the following pages were planned to unravel one important set of such influences - those which radiate from the acts of Man - so that it might be possible to trace the different ways in which Man's power has worked and is working, and to realize to what degree a fauna of to-day owes its character and composition to his interference. With this end in view it was necessary to select a particular fauna of manageable compass, where the inquisition into Man's influence could be pushed to the furthest limits; and several facts pointed to the fauna of Scotland as best suited for the purpose. Nevertheless, I have not hesitated to refer to examples of Man's influence in other countries, wherever particular types have been strikingly illustrated, or where influences are seen at work which help to explain effects of causes long lost to sight in Scotland, or where, as in the case of counter-pests, modern science has created new kinds of interference which sooner or later are likely to be adopted in this country. A result of this enquiry has been to emphasize the instability and changefulness of a fauna, and a word may be said as to the general place of Man's influence in the sum of change. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The Influence of Man on Animal Life in Scotland: A Study in Faunal Evolution With this end in View it was necessary to select a particular fauna of manageable compass, where the inquisition into Man's influence could be pushed to the furthest limits; and several facts pointed to the fauna of Scotland as best suited for the purpose. Nevertheless, I have not hesitated to refer to examples of Man's influence in other countries, wherever particular types have been strikingly illustrated, or where influences are seen at work which help to explain effects of causes long lost to sight in Scotland, or where, as in the case of counter-pests, modern science has created new kinds of interference which sooner or later are likely to be adopted in this country. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

'Man and the Natural World, an encyclopaedic study of man's relationship to animals and plants, is completely engrossing ... It explains everything - why we eat what we do, why we plant this and not that, why we keep pets, why we like some animals and not others, why we kill the things we kill and love the things we love ... It is often a funny book and one to read again and again' Paul Theroux, Sunday Times 'The English historian Keith Thomas has revealed modes of thought and ways of life deeply strange to us' Hilary Mantel, New York Review of Books 'A treasury of unusual historical anecdote ... a delight to read and a pleasure to own' Auberon Waugh, Sunday Telegraph 'A dense and rich work ... the return to the grass roots of our own environmental convictions is made by the most enchantingly minor paths' Ronald Blythe, Guardian