A HISTORY OF CORNWALL 30. Harvest Mouse. Mas minutus, Pallas. The diminutive size of this mouse causes it to be generally overlooked, and in consequence its distri- bution in the county has not yet been worked out. It is locally not uncommon about Penzance, and has been taken at Hayle ; about Truro and Falmouth it is local, but on the whole common. It has been captured on East Pentire, Newquay, at Bodmin, at St. Neot, and at Launceston. 31. Water Vole. Microttu amphibius, Linn. Bell Arvicola amphibius. Common in almost all suitable habitats throughout the county. 32. Field Vole. Microtus agrestis, Linn. Bell Arvicola agrestis. Abundant, especially in low-lying moist grass-land. 33. Bank Vole. Evotomys glareohs, Schreber. Bell Arvicola glareolus. This vole does not appear to be plentiful anywhere in the county, but occurs sparingly near Constantine and about Budock, Falmouth, at Pencalenick, and was once taken about five years ago just beyond the Viaduct towards Idless, Truro. One was killed in the Res- tormel Valley in May, 1 90 1 , and it has been recorded from between Altarnun and Launceston, from near Liskeard and from Trerice, Newquay. As old ivy- covered Cornish hedgebanks form an ideal habitat for this vole, it is probable that it is generally distributed throughout the county. 34. Common Hare. Lefus eunpaeus, Pallas. Bell Lepus timidus. Formerly common over the greater part of Corn- wall, but now locally somewhat scarce in the southern half of the county. 35. Rabbit. Lepus cun'tculus, Linn. Abundant almost everywhere. UNGULATA [Red Deer. Cervus elaphus, Linn. Within modern times there have been no resident wild red deer in the county, but the following account of a stray stag from Devonshire by Mr. W. T. Hancock in The Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, vii, is of considerable interest: 'Since August, 1879, a wild red stag with a huge pair of horns has been seen in the Hendergrove and Trengall woods, but has eluded all efforts to capture him. When chased he invariably took the hedge. Some three months since he strayed to North Hill, and thence to Sibblyback, where he fed and ran with the colts.' As the fallow deer in the county are scarcely in a semi-feral condition, Cervus dama cannot be claimed as one of the Cornish mammals.] CETACEA 36. Common Rorqual. Balaenoptera musculus, Linn. Specimens of whales are occasionally seen off the Cornish coast, and are usually referred to this species. Couch says : ' Specimens of the Razorback are seen every year feeding upon the smaller gregarious fishes.' In 1831 a specimen was washed ashore at Plymouth that had been noticed off the Cornish coast for some time previous. In 1850 Mr. Hamilton James saw a baby rorqual 146. long, 7 ft. 8 in. in girth, and weigh- ing just a ton, that had been captured at Polperro. In 1863 a specimen was cast up near the breakwater at Falmouth, the skeleton of which was sent to the Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill. In 1875 one was found dead about nine miles from land and towed into a cove west of Mevagissey. It was 62 ft. in length and 36ft. in girth, the tail was 13^ ft. broad and the pectoral fin 8^ ft., the jaws 1 5 ft. in length and furnished with 350 plates of whalebone on each side. In October, 1880, after an unusually violent storm, a humerus 20 in. long, 39 in. in greatest circumference, and weighing 5 3 Ib. was found on the beach at Port Holland. In May, 1843, a very large specimen was towed ashore at Newquay. There is, of course, the risk that in one or two of the above records the identification was assumed rather than determined. 37. Sibbald's Rorqual. Balaenoptera sibbaldi, Bell. Dr. Bullmore records one washed ashore at Cadgwith, near the Lizard, 65 ft. in length, 24 ft. in circum- ference, with a caudal fin 1 3 ft. broad. 38. Beaked Whale. Hyperoodon rostrata, Chem. Dr. Bullmore records one which was brought into Polperro by the mackerel boats in May, 1850. [Sperm Whale. Physeter macrocephalus, Linn. Couch says that a whale, supposed to be of this species, is sometimes seen off the Cornish coasts sailing rapidly along at a uniform elevation in the water with its slender but elevated fin above surface and its body concealed below.] [Humped Blower. Physeter polycyphus, Jen. Of this form Couch says: 'One specimen ran itself ashore in pursuit of small fish several years since, and another was seen and minutely described to me by an intelligent fisherman.'] 39. Grampus. Orca gladiator, Lacepede. Frequently seen and occasionally captured along the south coast ; has been recorded from Padstow. 40. Risso's Grampus. Grampus griseus, Cuv. A beautiful adult female I o ft. 6 in. long, was caught in the mackerel nets off the Eddystone, 28 February, 1870, and is now in the British Museum. 41. Pilot or Ca'ing Whale. Traill. Globicephalus melas, One was brought into Plymouth in April, 1839, and Matthias Dunn identified one that came ashore near Gorran in or about 1874. 42. Porpoise. Phocaena communis, Cuvier. This, the sniffer of the Cornish fisherman, is com- mon along the south coast, and frequently recorded from the north. It is sometimes caught in drift nets, and occasionally takes bait. It now and then passes up the tidal rivers to a considerable distance, and one 6 ft. long and 122 Ib. in weight was found dead on mud at Newham Cove, just below Lostwithiel Moors, in February, 1903. 43. Dolphin. Delpbinus delphii, Linn. This is not uncommon along the south coast, and large shoals now and then visit Mount's Bay in sum- mer. It is often observed in Falmouth Harbour. In October, 1891, one 6 feet long was washed ashore in a dying condition near Falmouth Hotel. It has been recorded from St. Ives Bay and off Newquay. 352
