BIOLOGY IN ITS WIDER ASPECTS 1293 



in Scotland, or from the botanical side to ask what barley and oats 

 have meant, so, if one had knowledge and insight enough, one should 

 ask what Fisheries have meant; and even more precisely, what 

 particular fishes, Hke the Salmon, have meant. Each raises questions 

 which it would require years of study to answer. Similarly, of course, 

 one should inquire into the social consequences of the Red-deer, 

 or of the Red-grouse — the last being a species peculiar to Britain. 



V. Small Food Animals. — In early days, before there were 

 great flocks and herds and a perennial killing of sheep and cattle for 

 food, minor sources of supply were of course important. There was 

 trapping of biggish birds like wild geese and ducks, and biggish 

 mammals like hares. The two species of hare may be taken as 

 examples of this group ; but it has to be noted that their frequency 

 is quite modern, being incident on the spread of agriculture and the 

 consequent increase of the creatures' food-supply. Dr. Ritchie tells 

 us that in 1707 shooting a hare was punishable under a penalty of 

 20 pounds Scots; in 1848 anyone could shoot a hare, even without 

 a Game Certificate; in 1893 the Hares Preservation Act granted a 

 close time to the over-persecuted creature. 



The reason for not including the rabbit is well known. It was not 

 present in prehistoric Britain; it is not mentioned by Caesar as a 

 British animal; it was not introduced by the Romans; warrens are 

 not mentioned in the Domesday Book; there is no Celtic name for 

 the animal. In fact the rabbit was unknown in Britain before the 

 Norman Conquest, though it was already common in Scotland by 

 the thirteenth century. In the strict sense the rabbit cannot be 

 called an indigenous member of the British Fauna. Of course along 

 with smallish food-animals we include those caught for other 

 reasons, e.g. the beaver, till the end of the thirteenth century. Yet 

 the rabbit has manifold importance, alike for evil or for good; and 

 as to the beaver, his reintroduction might have more than simply 

 zoological interest. The coming National Parks, at least, might 

 surely find a place for him. 



VI. Small Pests and Friends. — Exercising considerable influ- 

 ence on man's interests are the native rodents like the voles and 

 the mice, whose destructiveness to crops and stores was multiplied 

 when the rats came. For both the Black Rat and the Brown Rat 

 are aliens, the first dating from about the time of the Crusaders and 

 the second from about the middle of the eighteenth century. But 

 along with the small pests we must take the small friends like mole, 

 hedgehog, and shrew. 



VII. Esthetic Treasures. — The seventh and last group of 

 animals which we would recognise as forming an important part 

 of our heritage are the things of beauty which are a joy for ever. 

 We have, for instance, about 400 different kinds of birds, many 

 of which have thrilled man deeply. No doubt a few are injurious 



