INTRODUCTION. if 
Corporation in 1886, it was the haunt during the 
breeding season of the Red Grouse, Short-eared Owl, 
Curlew, Common Snipe, and Twite. An interesting 
instance of the change in bird life wrought by cultiva- 
tion is exhibited in the rapid colonisation of Carrington 
Moss, after its reclamation, by the Common Bunting. 
Owing, in a large measure, to the extensive preserva- 
tion of game, there is no lack of woods and plantations 
in the Cheshire Plain, the area under this heading for 
the whole county being returned in 1897 at 24,836 
acres. The pastures in the dairy-farming districts are 
pleasantly interspersed with pheasant-coverts, many of 
which are of quite recent growth. Where the rivers 
have carved out narrow valleys in the alluvium, as the 
Bollin has between Wilmslow and Bowdon, the steep 
banks are often clothed with hanging woods, which 
furnish congenial quarters for Warblers, Finches, and 
other passerine birds. Large parks are numerous, and 
those such as Dunham Massey, Tatton, and Doddington, 
which contain much old timber, are the favoured haunts 
of Woodpeckers, the Tawny Owl, Redstart, and Titmice. 
At Rudheath there are extensive plantations of fir and 
birch, and the hillsides at Alderley Edge, Overton, and 
Peckforton are clothed with woods of beech and fir. 
The most extensive woodlands in Cheshire are, however, 
situated within the Royal Forest of Delamere, which 
lies between Northwich and Chester. In 1812, com- 
missioners were authorised to enclose all that remained 
of the waste lands in this district, which then amounted 
to 7755 acres, one-half of which was retained by the 
Crown, and the other half allotted to the adjoining 
landed proprietors. A large proportion of the Forest 
was planted with fir, oak, and beech, but a good deal 
of sparsely wooded heath-land still remains. Game- 
