A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



in many other counties in England. While mentioning these two animals 

 I should like to refer to a very interesting paper on Hertfordshire Deer 

 Parks which was read before the Hertfordshire Natural History Society 

 by Mr. Harting in 1881. He stated that at one time there were some 

 forty-four deer parks in this county, but that at the present day there 

 were only ten which had not been disparked. In one of these only 

 Ashridge Park near Great Berkhamsted is the red deer now kept, 

 though probably it was to be found in several others in days gone by. 

 In all the other parks which now exist there are only fallow deer. 



CHEIROPTERA 



i. Lesser Horseshoe Bat. Rhinolopkus hippo- 3 



siderus, Bechstein. 



The Rev. H. A. Macpherson in the Zoologist 

 for 1887, p. 152, states that a fresh example 

 of this species, which had been obtained in 

 Hertfordshire, was sent in the summer of 

 1886 to Spalding of Notting Hill. 



Pipistrellus noctu/a, 



Great or White's Bat. 

 Schreber. 



Bell Scotophilui noctula. 

 White Vespertilio altivolans. 

 This bat is found in all parts of Hertford- 

 shire. 



2. Long-eared Bat. Plecotus auritus, Linn. 



The long-eared bat is generally distributed 

 throughout the county. 



4. Pipistrelle. Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Schreber. 



Bell Scotopbilus plpistrellus. 

 This is an abundant species everywhere in 

 the county. 



INSECTIVORA 



5. Hedgehog. Erinaceus europteus, Linn. 

 This animal is common in Hertfordshire, 



though many are destroyed in various ways. 

 A female hedgehog in my possession in July 

 of this year (1900) devoured one of the 

 young ones which I found with it. 



6. Mole. Talpa europeea^ Linn. 



The mole is very abundant with us, though 

 apparently it is more plentiful during some 

 years than others. In the winter of 187980 

 it seems to have been unusually numerous 

 throughout the county. This species is sub- 

 ject rather often to variations in colour, for in 

 the Trans, of the Herts Nat. Hist. Soc. for 

 1883 the late Dr. Brett recorded the finding 

 of thirty moles of a white or cream colour in 

 about half an acre of a field of oats. Some 

 albino moles also, caught in a hedgerow at 

 Ley Farm on the St. Albans Road, Watford, 



were exhibited by Mr. T. Vaughan Roberts 

 at a meeting of the society in December, 1891. 



7. Common Shrew. Sorex araneus. Linn. 



This animal is found throughout the county, 

 but of its congener (S. pygmeeuf) I can find no 

 record. In August or September, 1893, Mr. 

 Henry Lewis of St. Albans obtained from 

 a clover-field near that place two specimens 

 of the common shrew which were albinos ; 

 this is a most unusual occurrence, as albinism 

 is seldom found in this species. 



8. Water-Shrew. Neomys fodiens, Pallas. 



Bell Crossopus fodlens. 



This species is to be found in many parts 

 of Hertfordshire where the locality is suitable. 

 There are, I believe, several specimens in the 

 national collection which are labelled as hav- 

 ing been obtained at Tring. 



CARNIVORA 



9. Fox. Vulpes vulpes, Linn. 



Bell Vulpes vulgaris. 



So long as foxhunting lasts in this country 

 will the fox remain with us, but when the evil 

 day comes that the noble sport is given up in 

 England then will this species soon become 

 extinct. In many districts in Hertfordshire 

 the fox is by no means so plentiful as can 

 be desired. This is chiefly due to the fact 



that so much of the county is given up to 

 shooting rather than hunting. It is however 

 most strictly preserved by many owners in the 

 county. 



10. Pine Marten. Mustela martts, Linn. 



Bell Maries abletum. 



The pine marten has unfortunately been 

 so long extinct in Hertfordshire that I am 



2l8 



