John (later Henry, then John Young) issued a series of books of English Country Dances, tunes and dance instructions starting in 1651. It eventually reached 3 volumes, and the latest edition of vol. 1 is the 18th (and there were ocassionaly suplementary sheets with no edition number) and is undated, but about 1725. Vol. 2 reached a 4th (last) edition in 1728. I've never seen much about Vol. 3. In 1706, I think it was some competition started in 1706, but the earliest extant edition is from Walsh, Hare, and Randell, with '24 New Country Country Dances for the Year 1708'. In 1718 Walsh issued a big volume, and in 1719 a second followed, and these were entituled 'The Compleat Country Dancing Master. A new edition came out in 1731. "Geud Man of Ballangigh" as noted above was published by Playford and later by Walsh, 1718. "Hunt the squirell" was published by Playford and later again by Walsh in the 1718 volume. Both tunes were reprinted in Oswald Caledonian Pocket Companion, but not with any dance directions. I have neither dance as published earlier.

I talked to two quite experienced Scottish country dancers last Saturday night and they assured me that any title they knew was the title of a dance, and never that of the tune. When I asked them if there was any shorthand way of identifying a dance (like theme or stressed note codes for music) they look at me as if I had just arrived form Mars with too few parts for some of me and too many elsewhere. Titles tell one practically nothing, and we can't identify a dance without the complete instructions.