222 Noiihcini Xcivs. 



an annual averaj^e rainlall oi 150 inches. I<'ui' some lime it was 

 thoui^ht that a hill fox was the culprit, but after it became plain 

 that the injury to the lambs was all of the same nature, and that 

 a peculiar one, a small piece beini^ in each case bitten out of the 

 back of the neck, it was suspected that a ' Mart ' was at work. 

 Accordini^ly a trap was set by a man named Pepper, the ' Mart ' 

 was caug-ht, and the depredations at once ceased. 



I was informed by a shepherd that his brother, employed as 

 a g"amekeeper by a Mr. Robinson, in Lani^dale, had during the 

 last four years trapped four or five ' Marts.' These were all the 

 recent records I was able to obtain, but it is only fair to say that 

 enquiries were made in but one place, viz., Borrowdale. As a 

 boy (now, alas, many years ag^o) I remember hearini^ that 

 * Marts ' were fairly plentiful in the upper part of Eskdale, and 

 we possessed a magnificent stuffed specimen which had been 

 trapped there by a gamekeeper named Proud. If one attached 

 a long" string to him and dragged him gently and noiselessly up 

 to a cat sleeping by the fireside, the result was such as to 

 exceed the wildest expectations of any malicious boy, but the 

 sport had to be curtailed, or broken wmdows would have 

 marked the maddened exit of the poor cat from the room. 



I am told that 'Marts' are very easily trapped, and that a 

 piece of fish is a fatal bait, though a bit of rabbit will do at a 

 pinch. They cannot stand smoke, and when run to ground in 

 rough stones or screes, if a bunch of bracken is set alight and 

 applied to the mouth of the hole, they u-ill bolt immediately. 

 The best kind of dog for hunting them is said to be a cross 

 between the otter and the foxhound. 



The Raven {Corvus comx) seems still fairly plentiful. I saw 

 no less than four when standing on June 4th of this year on 

 the summit of Stickle Pike (2300 feet), one of the Langdale Pikes. 

 And though not quite so recently, I have heard their familiar 

 croak in the steep precipices of Dale Head, a (comparatively) 

 little-known mountain of the Borrowdale group. The sheep- 

 farmers do not think they molest the healthy lambs, but they 

 give (rather to my surprise) a bad name in this respect to the 

 Carrion Crow, especially during the last year or two. In fact, 

 they were said to be worse than the hill foxes. 



TIr- rrisicKnlsliip ol (hf NuiUsliirc X.iliiralisls' I'nioii lor 11)07 lias Ix-iii 

 offered to and acccpU-d by Mr. C. Crosslaiui, l-M,.S.. ol" I lalifax, ii<iiil author 

 of the recently piiblislied ' Funjjiis Flora of Yorkshire.' 



Natiinilist, 



