MAMMALS county which is not visited annually by this wander- ing tribe. It is commoner on the rivers, estuaries, and open sea on the south coast than on the Bristol Channel side, though evidently not uncommon along the whole length of the Camel. Speaking of the otter, Couch says : ' By far the greatest portion of these creatures in Cornwall derive their food from the sea, where they may be seen diving for fish even when the waves are very tempestuous. Several instances are known of their being drowned in crab-pots, into which they had entered in search of prey and had not afterwards been able to find the opening.' Though occurring frequently in the open sea and in caves along the south coast and occasionally in the estuaries of the Looe river, the Fowey, and the Fal, it does not appear to be so marine in its habits now as formerly, and seems to prefer the rocky streams to all other habitats. During the last forty years it has been reported in crab-pots about half a dozen times. 22. Common Seal. Pboca vltulina, Linn. The common seal occurs along the north coast from Moorwinstow to Land's End. A few frequent the cliffs near Cape Cornwall and even the castle caves near Castle Treryn close to the Logan Rock, but it is not often seen along the south coast, and most of those reported from the Channel are otters. One, however, was killed at Whitsand Bay in 1 86 1, two were seen several times by Marryat near Pol- perro in 1 890, and Matthias Dunn saw it occasion- ally on the rocks about Gorran. The lonesome character of the littoral and the many caves in the slate by the Severn Sea no doubt explain its prefer- ence for the northern shores of the county, where it undoubtedly breeds in small numbers. Baby seals have also been seen on the beaches at Porthcurnow and Porthgwarra, and once on Whitsand Bay, Land's End. Ray, in his Itinerary, speaks of the soils (seals) he saw at the Longships ; while Borlase mentions them in his 'Natural History of Cornwall. These references, together with the carvings of this mammal on the pew ends at Zennor Church and the many legends of mermaids in the folk-lore of the county, show that the seal is not a recent settler as has been suggested, but has been a denizen of the Cornish seas for centuries. This species is completely replaced at Scilly by the grey seal, as Mr. Dorrien-Smith only knows of one killed there during the last forty years. 23. Grey Seal. Halichaerus gryphus, Fabr. The Isles of Scilly are the headquarters of this fine seal. Mr. T. A. Dorrien-Smith, the lord proprietor of the isles, writes : ' Undoubtedly the grey seal exists at Scilly, and in considerable numbers. I have seen as many as a dozen on a rock together and twenty or thirty on one small group of islands at the same time. The largest we have killed weighed 672 lb., just 6 cwt., and I have often seen them up to 5 cwt.' On Roseveare, Rosevean, Gorregan, and the western islands generally they are almost always in evidence. When Mr. J. G. Millais visited Scilly in May, 1903, for the purpose of securing a specimen, he saw six on a rock on his first introduction to their haunts. On the writer's first visit he counted seventeen one day on Rosevean and Gorregan, and their presence was so commonplace as scarcely to excite remark from the boatmen. Several white pups of the grey seal have been taken on the Cornish mainland from time to time, but Millais thinks it improbable that they breed there. Adult specimens are occasionally seen on the north coast near Zennor, Newquay, Padstow, and Boscastle, and on the south coast to the west of Penzance. RODENTIA 24. Squirrel. Sciurus leucourus, Kerr. Bell Sciurus vulgaris. The squirrel is abundant throughout the Truro and Falmouth districts, but does not seem to occur further west than Tehidy, while in many parts of the eastern half of the county it is scarce or altogether wanting. 25. Dormouse. Muscardinus avellanarius, Linn. Bell Myoxus avellanarius. The ' dory mouse ' is widespread throughout the county, but somewhat local. Though apparently scarce in the Hayle, Camelfbrd, and Callington dis- tricts, it is common in places about Bodmin, Truro, Falmouth, and Newquay. 26. Brown Rat. Mus decumanus, Pallas. Common and generally distributed. Pied varieties are not uncommon, and an albino was killed by Mr. Henry Harris near Stratton in 1901. 27. Black Rat. Mus rattus, Linn. As late as 1850 this rat was not uncommon about Falmouth, and was of frequent occurrence at Hayle and Penzance. At Looe it persisted till the early seventies. In August, 1878, Mr. T. Cornish killed a black rat at Prussia Cove which, from his description, may have been M us akxandrinus. Several were seen and two killed on the Gull Rock, Portscatho, in 1882. About 1880 a small colony existed at a farm called Trenuggo, about four miles west of Penzance, but when Cornish went there in 1883 he failed to secure a specimen, and concluded they had deserted the spot. In 1885 two were killed about a week apart at Newquay. In 1889 Cornish recorded in the Zoologist the capture of a black rat at Tredorwin, about five miles north-east of Penzance, and of another at Paul, three miles to the south-west. He also mentions that one had been seen that year at Camborne. In 1891 one was killed near Falmouth by a farm lad, and was seen by the writer when it was in an advanced state of decomposition. There appears to be no fur- ther county record till 1902, when one was caught in a trap and another seen at Heamoor, about two miles north-west of Penzance. A fine female speci- men of Mus akxandrinus was killed in Falmouth Docks on 30 June, 1900. 28. House Mouse, Mus musculus, Linn. Abundant. 29. Long-tailed Field Mouse. Mus sylvaticus, Linn. Abundant almost everywhere. This was the only mouse that appeared in the two ' larders ' of the butcher bird that have recently been found near Truro. One of the birds caught and impaled three of these mice on a stunted white-thorn between four o'clock one afternoon and ten the following morning. During the time these 'larders' were in use eleven long-tailed field mice appeared in one of them and ten in the other. 351
