1002 The Zoologist — December, 18G7. 



That learned antiquary Dr. Whitaker, the late vicar of Whalley, 

 Lancashire, gives in his ' History of Whalley ' many interesting and 

 authentic accounts of the great Forest of Blackburnshire and its tenants, 

 from the time of the Saxon till 1806, when he mentions the destruction 

 of the last wild herd of red deer that roamed in Bowland. 



This great work of Dr. Win taker's is more fitted for the shelves of 

 the antiquary than the naturalist; but I will make a few extracts from 

 the work, which I think will be of extreme interest to the naturalist, 

 as they give authentic information in regard to several animals now 

 extinct in this part of the country. 



Dr. Whitaker, after a long and learned analysis of the forest laws, 

 lists of the various seneschals of the Forest, from 1178 till the time of 

 Queen Anne, lists of the animals of chase and various other matters, 

 thus describes the Forests of Blackburnshire and Bowland, as " high 

 and barren tracts, rejected at the first distribution of property when 

 townships were planted, and commons mered out in the fertile and 

 sheltered grounds beneath : in this state they remained among the last 

 retreats of the wolf and the abode of stags and roes, and bubali or wild 

 cattle, which are mentioned by Leland as remaining not long before 

 his time at Blakeley, and of which tradition records that they were 

 transplanted into the Dean's or Abbot's Park of Whalley, whence they 

 arc reported, on the same evidence, to have been removed after the 

 dissolution to Gisburne Park, where their descendants still re- 

 main." 



In Dr. Whitaker's work is the fragment of a most interesting diary 

 kept by Nicholas Assheton, of Downhatn, Esq., for the year 1617 and 

 part of 1618. Downham, still the residence of the Assheton family, is 

 built at the base of Pendle Hill, within the limits of the ancient forest 

 of Blackburnshire. Mr. Assheton, at the time he kept this diary, was 

 a young and active man, engaged in all the business and enjoying all 

 the amusements of the country. I will pass over matters of historical 

 and general interest and confine myself to extracts from his entries 

 relating to sporting, as they throw light upon the animals and birds 

 then existing in this part of the country : some of the former are now 

 extinct. He mentions, however, in this period, sixteen fox-chases, ten 

 stag hunts, two of the buck, as many of the otter and hare, one of the 

 badger, four days of grouse shooting, the same of fishing in Kibble 

 and Hodder, and two of hawking. 



Some of the entries are worth perusal to the naturalist, and I will 

 therefore give examples. 



