VERMIN 237 



eat a good many undesirable ones, and help to keep 

 even game from the evils of over-protection. 



Concerning the wild cat, it is extremely difficult 

 to get reliable information. All reports from un- 

 skilled observers, of which many have reached my 

 ears, must be received with extreme caution. There 

 is nothing commoner than for a tame cat to become 

 feral. In two houses which I used to visit, the 

 cats were in this condition, feeding mainly on 

 various kinds of game caught in surrounding 

 woods. Both were very large, as if thriving on 

 their freedom, and fare. In this transition state, 

 cats often breed in the woods, and raise a litter 

 which have never known domesticity. 



In the Highland cottages one sometimes sees a 

 brindled grey, with thick-set tail, regular stripes, 

 and generally forbidding appearance ; and learns, on 

 inquiry, that it is somewhat of a rover. This is 

 probably the result of a cross with a genuine 

 wildling. 



Except, it may be, in the wilds of Sutherlandshire, 

 where game are not so strictly preserved, or in the 

 rocky north-west coast, the wild cat is extremely 

 rare. In a county so rude as Argyllshire, it is 

 practically unknown. 



Two species of marten are reported, one with 



