26 THE WILD CAT 



three were reported as killed in one West 

 Highland district; the latest is said to have 

 measured 40 inches in length, and to have 

 weighed 14 Ibs. Bell 1 gives the length of the 

 average male as being : head and body, i foot 

 10 inches, tail fully 1 1 inches total, 33 inches ; 

 but states that the dimensions vary greatly in 

 individuals, as might be expected. The female 

 is the smaller of the two. 



It would be a sad loss to our Scottish fauna 

 if this animal, in many respects the most in- 

 teresting of our remaining wild inhabitants, 

 were to be exterminated ; and should those in 

 a position to afford protection to it in its few 

 remaining haunts neglect to do so, it is all the 

 more likely that this may result, as a tempting 

 price is always forthcoming for good specimens, 

 dead or alive. If the schemes for the re- 

 afforestation of Scotland, of which to-day we 

 hear so much, should take substantial form in 

 the near future, it may afford the best hope that 

 such a consummation may yet be averted. 



1 British Quadrupeds. 



