MAMMALS 



been killed around Cheadle some of these I 

 find were turned out in the spring of last year, 

 but Mr. Bill of Farley tells me that there 

 have generally been a few in the moor- 

 land district of our county.' Of course no 



one will suppose that the mountain or ' Scotch 

 hare is indigenous in Staffordshire. 



32. Rabbit. 

 Plentiful. 



Lefus cuniculus, Linn. 



UNGULATA 



33. Chartley White Cattle. Bos taurus, Linn. 



No account of the mammals of Staffordshire 

 could be considered complete without refer- 

 ence to the famous herd of white cattle so 

 long preserved in a half-wild condition at 

 Chartley Park by the Earls Ferrers. These 

 magnificent animals are white, with the ears, 

 hoofs, and generally the muzzle, black. Black 

 spots and blotches are usually seen on the 

 lower part of the fore-legs and sometimes on 

 the hind-legs also. The horns are white finely 

 tipped with black, are long and sweeping, not 

 short and sharply curved upwards as in the 

 Chillingham and Cadzow herds, and remind 

 one of the fine Old English long-horn cattle 

 and the Highland breed in the bold way in 

 which they stand out from the sides of the 

 head. A remarkable feature is a large tuft of 

 long curly hair which adorns the forehead and 

 reaches as low as the inner corners of the 

 eyes, and especially in old bulls possesses a 

 parting down the centre which gives to the 

 tuft the appearance of a carefully arranged 

 and very beautiful wig. In the cows the 

 horns are thinner than in the bulls and with a 

 more decided upward trend. 



As a rule the disposition of these Chartley 

 cattle is mild and timorous, and when 

 approached by strangers the herd slowly 

 retreats. At certain seasons the animals be- 

 come dangerous, and it is at all times unsafe 

 to approach too closely to the cows when 

 accompanied by their calves, the first signs of 

 a projected attack being stamping with the 

 fore-feet and an angry tossing of the head. 

 When alarmed the members of the herd 

 collect together and at first retreat a short 

 distance. They then suddenly turn and face 

 the object of their resentment, the herd 

 standing in the form of a semicircle. On 

 being further pressed they again retreat and 

 again turn towards their adversary, and if still 

 molested do not hesitate to charge. Few 

 spectators, however rash and curious, will be 

 found to await the latter consummation, and 

 prudently retire to the shelter of some pine- 

 clump or group of birch trees after one or two 

 demonstrations of hostility on the part of the 

 herd. Even young calves but a few days old 

 when met with away from their dams butt 

 with great spirit and fierceness. 



Black calves are occasionally born and are 

 invariably destroyed by the keepers, but black 

 and white calves seem to be unknown. The 

 birth of a black calf was anciently considered 

 to foretell disaster to some member of the 

 Ferrers family. 



Originally driven into Chartley Park from 

 Needwood Forest by William, Earl of Derby, 

 in the reign of Henry III., these cattle have 

 been carefully preserved pure by his descend- 

 ants, the Earls Ferrers, and although inbred 

 for over 650 years they still survive. At 

 times however they have been very near 

 extinction, for about twenty years ago they 

 were reduced to 17 head. By 1887 the herd 

 had doubled in numbers, and from 1890 to 

 1900 averaged about 45 head. Within the 

 last few years the numbers have steadily 

 declined, and in April, 1903, they were 

 reduced to less than a dozen. 



34. Red Deer. Cervus e/afhus, Linn. 



The red deer preserved at Chartley, Bagot's 

 Park, and elsewhere in the county are probably 

 the direct descendants of the wild deer which 

 anciently inhabited Needwood Forest, the 

 largest herd being that at Chartley which now 

 numbers 50 head. 



35. Fallow Deer. Cervus dama, Linn. 



Although not indigenous to Staffordshire any 

 more than to other parts of these islands, 

 fallow deer have from very ancient days 

 abounded in the county and great herds 

 wandered at liberty on Needwood Forest, and 

 in smaller numbers on Cannock Chase, down 

 to comparatively recent times. In 1798 

 Dickenson estimated the number of deer on 

 Needwood Forest at more than 3,000, and 

 remarked that many of them were of the dark 

 brown variety ' introduced from Norway by 

 James I.' Dickenson, like many a writer 

 since his day, was probably in error when he 

 penned the remark quoted above, for Mr. 

 J. E. Harting has shown (Essays on Sport and 

 Natural History) that a dark race of fallow 

 deer existed in England as early as 1465. 



In a state of semi-domestication fallow deer 

 are kept in the deer-parks at Chartley, Bagots- 

 Bromley, Wooton, Dunstall, etc., whilst a few 

 exist in a state of freedom on Cannock Chase, 



167 



