CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES 527 



implies, does best in places where pine trees exist, so that the woodland 

 country which is necessary for roe deer would be equally valuable for the 

 pine marten. Unfortunately they are great travellers and might wander 

 off the ground and disappear. But if they could be induced to remain 

 in an area which is favourable to them they would be an interesting and 

 valuable addition to the fauna of a National Park. Perhaps the most 

 difficult beasts to acclimatise in Scotland would be the rarer bats, most 

 of which have only been found in the South of England. Possibly they 

 might do on the West coast, but I should imagine that their acclimatisation 

 would present considerable difficulties. Rodents are common enough 

 and in some places too common, so their preservation would present no 

 difficulties. Plenty of rabbits would be necessary. 



Turning from mammals to the birds one may say that if birds are un- 

 molested generally speaking they will be present, at least those which are 

 suitable to the district. All that can really be said is that the National Park 

 should contain a strict bird sanctuary such as exists in so many parts of the 

 country at present, and if possible part of the Park should be near the sea 

 so that sea birds could be encouraged to breed there. 



The question as to whether it would be desirable in a National 

 Park to attempt to acclimatise animals which have become extinct in this 

 country is one which will occur to everybody. Of course they would 

 be few, for most of those which have died out and are extant in other 

 countries are dangerous and, I think, undesirable, but perhaps would 

 form an attraction to a National Park. The elk which is found in a good 

 many parts of Europe died out here very many years ago in prehistoric 

 times, and I doubt whether an attempt to re-introduce it would be 

 worth while, since it does not seem to do very well in this country. But 

 the reindeer, wild pig and beaver have become extinct in England only 

 within recent times, comparatively speaking — that is to say, within the last 

 few centuries, and there seems no reason at all why they should not be 

 re-introduced. There is a record that reindeer were hunted by the Norse 

 Jarls of the Orkneys in the twelfth (?) century. They seem to have been 

 pushed out by the red deer. 



Of course the question of feeding them is difficult and we might not be 

 able to get the right food for them in Scotland and that would make them 

 difficult to acclimatise. Wild pigs in Surrey existed up to the end of the 

 seventeenth century, and they seem to have become extinct less owing to 

 their having been killed than from their having been domesticated. Charles I 

 introduced wild boars into the New Forest, and the half-wild pigs which 

 used to roam in the forest until recently probably had this blood in them, 

 as they are very hairy. Wild boars exist in Northern France. There is 

 a story that the Commander-in-Chief went out one day and suddenly 

 saw a wild pig and immediately snatched the lance which his escort was 

 carrying and proceeded to ride him. I have seen them near Hesdin, near 

 Crecy and several other places, so there would be no difficulty in intro- 

 ducing them into England and they would form a very interesting addition. 

 Some people think they might be dangerous, but I do not think so. A pig 

 will fight if he is attacked, but otherwise he is harmless. 



As regards beavers, they were common in England until a few hundred 

 years ago and still exist on the Rhone and the Rhine in small numbers. 

 On the eastern rivers of Europe they are fairly plentiful and they would 

 do well on the West Coast of Scotland. A beaver dam and a number of 

 beavers on a river in a National Park would be a great attraction for the 

 public, but of course the whole question of introduction of species which 

 have become extinct would require careful consideration. 



