14 FAUNA OF NORTH WALES 



when he whistled or shouted. It was at approximately the 

 same spot during the hour and a half that he was on the beacli, 

 and sometimes its head was protruded above the water for 

 a quarter of an hour at a stretch. 



Pennant in History of Quadrupeds describes and figures a 

 *' Pied Seal " taken at Chester in Bfoy, 1766 : it was bare of 

 hair except on the head. This was probably a diseased Grey 

 Seal. Pennant also writes in British Zoology, quoting Rev. — 

 Farrington, of Dinas, Carnarvonshire : — " Seals are found most 

 frequentlj' between Lleyii and the northern parts of Anglesey : 

 they are seen often towards Carreg-y-moelrhon to the west of 

 Bardsey, and on the Skerries. They are excellent swimmers 

 and ready divers, and are very bold when in the sea, swimming 

 carelessly enough about boats. Their dens are in hollow rocks 

 or caverns near the sea but out of reach of the tide. In the 

 summer they will come out of the water to bask or sleep in 

 the sun on the top of large stones or shivers of rocks, and that 

 is the opijortiniit^' our countrymen take of shooting them. 

 If they chance to escape they hasten towards their proper 

 element, flinging stones and dirt behind them as they scramble 

 along ; at the same time expressing their fears by piteous 

 moans ; but if they happen to be o^ ertaken the}?- will make a 

 vigorous defence with their feet and teeth till they are killed. 

 They are taken for the sake of their skins and for the oil their 

 fat yields : the former sell for 4s. and 4s. 6d. apiece, and, when 

 dressed, are very useful in covering trunks, making waistcoats, 

 shot-pouches," etc. Pemiaut further refers to Seals on the 

 coast of Cornwall, quoting a letter from Rev. Dr. Wm. Borlase 

 dated 24th October, 1763, describing them as most plentiful 

 there in Ma}-, June and Juty, and as varying in size from " as 

 large as a cow and from that dowiiwards to a small calf." 

 Throughout Pennant's account the Grey Seal and Common 

 Seal are confused together. 



23.— SQUIRREL. Sciurus vulgaris (Linn.). 

 Common in wooded districts up to a moderate elevation. 



24. — DORMOUSE. Muscardinus avellanarius I Ann. 

 Generally distributed ; common in the east ; rare in the west. 



BLACK RAT. Epimys rattus (Linn.). 



Formerly found in the west, but probably now extinct. 



Pennant, in his History of Quadrupeds, writes : — " The Welsh 

 caU this Llygoden Frengig or the French Mouse, which evinces 



