538 An Attempt to ascertain the 



alone that I have offered the following- Catalogue, however imper- 

 fect, as a sort of foundation to work upon, and have accompanied it 

 witil notes, where anything interesting, and not before recorded 

 with regard to the habits or peculiarities of the species, presents 

 itself, thus breaking in some measure the monotony of a mere list. 

 It is my intention, also, to subjoin at the end of each class a notice 

 of the extinct species, where there is good authority that they for- 

 merly did exist ; fossil ones, however, Avill not be included. In- 

 troduced species will not be noticed, except in cases where they 

 have, as it were, almost become indigenous. 



Before commencing the catalogue of animals contained in the 

 above-mentioned district, it will be perhaps interesting to many of 

 my readers who live at a distance, to give some slight account of the 

 face and general appearance of the country. As however, wherever 

 soil, the geological formation or elevation appear to influence the dis- 

 tribution of a species, I shall particularly mention it when giving an 

 account of that species, it will therefore be unnecessary to occupy 

 much space here. 



The surface of Shropshire is chiefly covered by the old and new 

 red sandstone formation, traversed in a north-westerly direction by an 

 eruption of trap or igneous rock, forming hills, the principal of which 

 are the Wrekin, Ercal, Lileshall, Stretton hills, Longmynd, Sti- 

 ferstone. There are also other hills in Shropshire of sandstone, 

 which, although the trap does not make its appearance, are doubt- 

 less elevated by it. The principal of these are Grinshill, Timhill, 

 Hawkstone, Nessolis^s, and the hills in its neighbourhood. On the 

 sides of the trap hills the rocks belonging to the silurian system of 

 Mr Pvlurchison are generally exposed to view ; for a further account 

 of which I must refer my readers to a series of papers read by him 

 before the Geological Society, and to his forthcoming work on the 

 geology of Shropshire. An extensive coal-fleld is found with the 

 carboniferous series belonging to it, between Wellington and Shif- 

 nall, but the district occupied by it is far too thickly populated to be 

 very interesting to the zoologist. Extensive peat bogs exist, par- 

 ticularly those of the Wild or Weald moors, running from Newport 

 to the river Tearne at Crudington, the greatest breadth of which 

 may be estimated at four miles, and Baggymoor or Boggymoor, tra- 

 versed for its whole length by the river Perry, and extending from 

 Halston to Ruyton. Of the eleven towns I have never been able to 

 And any authentic account of animal remains having been found in 

 either of them. Lakes or meres, as they are called, occur in consi- 



