PREFACE. vii 



In regard to that portion of the present work 

 which treats of the ancient breed of wild white 

 cattle, it may be thought, by some, a little presump- 

 tuous on the part of the writer to deal with a subject 

 on which an entire volume has been so recently and 

 so ably written by the late Mr. Storer. But it 

 should be stated- that almost all the materials for 

 this portion of the book were not only collected long 

 before Mr. Storer's work was published, but were on 

 the eve of being incorporated in an important essay 

 by Mr. Edward Alston, which was nearly ready for 

 the press when Mr. Storer's volume appeared. 



It would be ungenerous, however, on the part of 

 the writer were he to withhold an acknowledgment 

 of his indebtedness to Mr. Storer's work for many 

 useful additions to his own (each, in fact, containing 

 something which the other had not), and in particular 

 for several details of the former extent of ancient 

 forests, which have been embodied in the Intro- 

 duction. 



