Lost British Birds. 9 



Cromwell, and the wasting away of the forests from other 

 natural causes. He further says : " If we accept the 

 above as the most probable causes, and come to examine 

 into the details of the testimony, we find that it was not 

 until the beginning of the eighteenth century that any large 

 extent of young wood was planted, nor until the end of the 

 eighteenth century that arboriculture became general in 



Scotland. The latter would appear to have been too late to 

 afford any fresh sustenance to the indigenous Capercaillies, 

 but it yielded an abundant supply by the date of the restora- 

 tion of the species in 1837-38 for the reintroduced birds." 



Here, then, with its evanishment, ends the first part of 

 the Capercaillie's history in Great Britain. Vanished 

 indeed! The historian of the Great Auk has used the 

 seemingly strange expression, " The living Garefowl is ex- 

 tinct ! " which might well call up a smile in the uninformed 

 reader, who does not know the value attached to preserved 



