If Fennell's _Natural History of Quadrupeds_ be correctly quoted, as it is
stated to be "a very excellent and learned work," Mr. Fennell must have
been a better naturalist than geographer, for he says of the beech marten:
"In Selkirkshire it has been observed to descend to the shore at night
time to feed upon mollusks, particularly upon the large basket mussel
(_Mytilus modiolus_)."
Selkirkshire, as you well know, is an inland county, nowhere approaching
the sea by many miles: I would fain hope, for Mr. Fennell's sake, that
Selkirkshire is either a misprint or a misquotation.