The papers consist of correspondence about natural history, and journals, from around 1828 to 1861. More particularly there is: a journal of a visit to Ireland in the form of letters from Jardine to his wife, Dk.6.20/315; draft letters and replies on a variety of subjects; note; and, volume of offprints on natural history.

Papers relating to Sir Frank Fraser Darling (1903-1979), ecologist and lecturer in ecology and conservation at the University of Edinburgh. This collection includes black-and-white research photographs of landscapes and animals, correspondence, African ecological reports and minutes of meetings, publications, handwritten notes, and tapes.

The collection contains correspondence and papers on various ornithological issues, 1901-1945, and includes correspondence with William Eagle Clarke (1853-1938) between 1900 and 1911, also Kinnear's obituary of W. E. Clarke.