200 ODD HOURS WITH NATURE 



dimensions and weight. The paragraph is written 

 because the writer believes the animal to be very 

 uncommon, and for the same reason it is given 

 prominence in the papers. During a visit made 

 this summer to the head keeper on one of the 

 large northern estates a man of high intelligence 

 and great experience I asked his opinion on the 

 subject, mentioning that the reports of the killing 

 of wild cats were rare, whatever might be the case 

 with the creatures themselves. His reply was in- 

 teresting and characteristic. "I'll tell you what 

 is scarce," he said. " In the parts of the country 

 where there are wild cats, men who write to the 

 papers are scarce. When you see a report that 

 in such-and-such a place in the Highlands a wild 

 cat has been captured, you must not suppose that 

 wild cats are more abundant there than elsewhere. 

 It simply means that there is a man there who 

 writes to the papers." 



He took down his vermin book and went on. 

 " Here," he said, " we are a good bit from any- 

 where, and have even to row across the loch to 

 reach the nearest public road. Nobody but game- 

 keepers live in the neighbourhood, and they would 

 as soon think of writing to the police as to the 

 papers about a wild cat. It follows that any number 

 of wild cats might be taken here, and nobody but 

 ourselves would know anything about it. Now 

 I find that, as a matter of fact, we got eleven wild 

 cats last year, and that does not look as if they 

 were very scarce. If we had tried particularly 

 we might have got more." He went on to relate 

 with great amusement how he had sent a live 



