THE BEAVER IN HERALDRY 33 



who use the beaver as a crest ; * it also appears 

 on the shield of three families, one in Cheshire 

 appearing in 1595, when, however, the animal 

 had been long extinct in the United Kingdom. 

 It does not seem to have left any record of its 

 former presence in the place-names of Scotland ; 

 those enumerated as occurring in England in 

 the work above referred to are few in number 

 and perhaps not always convincing. Nothing 

 is more apt to lead to error in this connection 

 than to infer derivation from similarity in sound 

 in present-day form. 



It must at once be admitted that the evidence 

 of the existence of the beaver in Scotland as 

 indigenous inhabitants, although indubitable, is 

 both remote and exceedingly scanty. That at 

 one time they did so exist is proved by the 

 finding of their remains in different parts of 

 the country. The late Edward R. Alston, 

 F.L.S., F.G.S., epitomises the matter thus : 2 



' The palaeontological and traditionary evi- 

 dence of the existence of the beaver in Scotland 

 has been investigated by Neill 3 and by Dr. 



Alexander, Baynham, Beaver, Beever, Bell, Bevers, Besook, 

 Beynham, Brooks, Coram, Corham, Danskine, Dimsdale, Eaton, 

 Fenwick, Howell, Maclagan, Molineux, Sadleyr, Symcock, Sym- 

 cott, Trowell. 



2 Fauna of Scotland^ 1880. 3 Edin. Phil. Jour n. 



C 



