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The Mammals of Westchester County, 

 New York. 



By John Rowley. 



(Revised to July 15, 1902.) 



Westchester County lies north of New York City, its 

 boundary line extending from Spuyten Duyvil Creek up the 

 east bank of the Hudson River to Highland Station, thence 

 to the Connecticut State line, and thence south, striking 

 Long Island Sound at Port Chester. This area contains 

 about 525 square miles. The surface of the country is rough 

 and broken. A number of irregular ridges running chiefly 

 north and south divide it into a series of hills and well- 

 watered valleys, the hills, for the most part, being rocky and 

 wooded, mainly with a growth of deciduous forest trees and 

 underbrush. Some of the ridges rise to an elevation of 1000 

 feet above tide water. The southeastern portion of the 

 county, adjacent to Long Island Sound, is much natter and 

 bordered by salt marshes. 



At the advent of the white settlers this region must have 

 been a perfect paradise for game and fur-bearing animals. 

 Indeed, the question of game at that period entered so largely 

 into the economy of the inhabitants as to form a part of the 

 consideration in the transfer of real estate. Many of the 

 early deeds contain a clause conferring the right of " Ffishing, 

 hunting and fowling." But the innate desire in man to kill 

 — hi colonial times for profit and in later years for mere 

 sport — has gradually done its work and the game has been 

 slowly but surely Aviped out. When one considers the close 

 proximity of a great city with its numberless sportsmen, and 

 the persecution to which wild animals are subjected in a 

 district so well populated as this, it is surprising that any 



