MAMMALS that it probably still survives on the Black Mountains of Herefordshire, an opinion which is shared by other correspondents and borne out by records of its occur- rence in neighbouring counties. The name Fitchet remains in common use as applied to the dark-coloured ferrets, as distinct from the vyhite ones. 1 6. Stoat. Pulcrius ermineui, Linn. Bell — Mustek erm'mea. Common all over the county. According to Mr. Swayne there was a great increase in its numbers during the last season, when his keeper at Burghill killed about three times as many as usual. The whitening of the stoat in winter has been well observed in Herefordshire. Mr. Lingwood writing in 1 840 says : ' I have a specimen, shot in February of this year, quite white except the back of the head and the tip of the tail.' Again in i86o he records the finding of a stoat in white winter garb at Mordi- ford in February, 1840, and of another in 1855 at Llanwarne.' Mr. Pilley reports that there are several ermine-like stoats and others partly white and partly normal in the Woolhope Museum, to which attention was directed by Mr. H. Cecil Moore at the annual meeting of the Woolhope Club in 1 906. He has also seen a number of similar skins. The Rev. S. Cornish Watkins writes : 'I have a record of seeing a fine white stoat, white all except the tip of the tail, at Kentchurch, on i January, 1893. This was after more than a week of very severe cold.' Mr. E. W. Du Buisson states that in February, 1 904, he saw a white stoat running along a hedgerow between Aylstone Hill and Lugg Bridge. The Rev. J. B. Hewitt writes : ' ' Not infrequently white in winter ; I have seen four or five during the last few years.' Mr. Walter H. Steward of Pontrllas has often seen partially-white stoats, and some years ago shot, on the Vroe Farm between Rowlstone and Llancillo, an almost pure white specimen. 17. Weasel. Putorius nivalis, Linn. Bell — Mustek vulgaris. This is common everywhere in Herefordshire, and is named as especially numerous during the year 1906. White ones are reported by Mr. Pilley. The Rev. S. Cornish Watkins writes : 'On 29 August, 1904, I was driving in Staunton on Arrow, and noticed a female weasel with several young by the roadside. The young dived into the grass, but the old weasel stood with her head and neck above the grass at the roadside chattering at me. I got down and touched her with the handle of the whip and turned her over, but she only bit it and stood on the defensive again, chattering vigorously. She tried to run up the whip to attack me, and made no attempt to escape. I never saw such an example of courage in a small creature.' We should not have to deplore the rapid extinction of our native fauna, if other naturalists would copy the example of Mr. Watkins, who adds : 'Needless to say, I did not do her or the young any damage.' Mr. E. C. Phillips says it is a valuable aid to the farmer from its skill in catching rats. Mr. Donald Mathews remarks on the frequent occurrence of the weasel in mole traps in his ex- perience. ' Woolhope Club, Tram, !t (1863). 18. Badger. MeUs meleSjlAnn. Bell — Meles taxus. The following account of the badger in Hereford- shire is given by Mr. R. A. Swayne : ' The number of badgers in the county has always been very large, and they sometimes amount to a pest. This results from the nature of the ground. The many wooded hills afford cover to the animals, and the soil, con- sisting of sandy gravel and pebbles, is easy for them to burrow in. They destroy eggs and young game and even sitting hens. On a farm situated on the side of Badnage Hill they used to turn over heavy hen coops at night to get at the hens and chickens. The farmer was able to convict the badgers, not the foxes, of this deed, for he traced their pads. I have heard of attempts to tame the animal, but it usually escapes ; so did a fine specimen which I sent to a small zoologi- cal garden at Sutton Coldfield near Birmingham. Just as the box was being carried into the garden the badger escaped and was not recaptured.' Regarding variations of the badger, a red or rusty rufous-coloured specimen has been found occasionally in Herefordshire, but very rarely. Mr. Pilley writes : ' Darker variations occur, nearly black. The animal is sparingly distributed, except in woods. Two were recently dug out at Breinton, some three miles from Hereford ; they were accused of destroying young foxes. Tame badgers are kept by Mr. T. C. Vigo of Eardisley, who obtains the young, rears them and gives them to his friends.' A tame badger has also been heard of at Leintwardinc, and others at Leominster, Sellack, and Aston Ingham. Of the two Breinton badgers named above, one was weighed by Mr. Lewis, and was found to weigh 431b. Its burrow was 9 ft. deep. Another is recorded as having been killed in Haywood Forest in 1905. Badgers are said to be especially numerous at Creden- hill, and Mr. H. Cecil Moore states that they are much too common on the Hampton Court estate near Leominster. 1 9. Otter. Lutra lutra, Linn. Bell — Lutra vulgaris. According to Mr. Lingwood, one or two otters were to be seen in the River Lugg in 1840. Mr. R. A. Swayne of Tarrington House, who has especially studied the habits of the otter, gives the following account of its occurrence in Herefordshire : ' The otter is compara- tively common all over the county, probably much more common than is supposed. Otters travel so much by water that they leave very few pads by which to trace them. They do, however, travel many miles at night, and they often visit well-stocked fish-pools, and if not disturbed will remain till they have eaten the largest fish. One visited a large pool on our property at Burghill, and lived there for some time, till he had cleared the pool of all the large fish, tench and eels. I had often seen large tench of many pounds weight rolling and splashing about with their backs showing out of the water, and the pool was well known in the village for the fine eels in it ; but when I had the pool drained, taking care to keep the outlet well netted, we failed to find a fish in the pool, either eel or tench, that would scale 8 oz. I had previously found the remains of a large eel, probably 2 lb. in weight, in a small spinney adjoining ; and the farmer told me that he had frequently noticed the lair of some wild animal in the rough grass. Now 153 20
