A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 
iiij” Wild cats were also numerous among 
the hills in central Lakeland, and generally 
fetched a shilling per head as vermin. Dr. 
Heysham observed that the breed was becom- 
ing extinct in the closing decade of the eight- 
eenth century. The last that Mr. W. 
Hodgson heard of was killed on Great Mell 
Fell early in the nineteenth century. 
Vulpes vulpes, Linn. 
Bell—Vulpes vulgaris. 
Locally, Tod (obs.). 
In the spring of the year many lambs are 
killed by our foxes, which the shepherds dis- 
tinguish as being either greyhound or terrier 
foxes. These animals were formerly pro- 
scribed owing to the damage which they in- 
flicted upon flock-masters. My friend the 
late T. Lees found that the custom of the 
churchwardens paying 35. 4d. for every fox’s 
head presented at the Easter vestry, was still 
in vogue at Greystoke when he went there 
in 1856. The charge was disallowed that 
year for the first time on the ground that the 
keepers who claimed the reward were already 
paid by their employer to kill vermin. When 
analysing the Greystoke accounts, I found 
that the churchwardens paid for ninety-one 
foxes during the fifty years which elapsed be- 
tween 1752 and 1802. Of this number, 
only eleven were cubs. The Keswick men 
were ardent cub-hunters. It appears from 
the accounts of Crosthwaite parish, that in 
1723 they killed thirteen cubs in the season, 
and, two years later, accounted for twelve 
cubs and one old fox. A cub only brought 
in a shilling ; but on the Naworth estate as 
much as five shillings was sometimes paid for 
a fox. 
14. Pine Marten. Mustela martes, Linn. 
Bell—Martes abietum. 
Locally, Sweet Mart, Clean Mart, Crag Mart. 
The pine marten is rare in the east of the 
county and practically unheard of in the 
north, but contrives to preserve a precarious 
footing among the mountain tops in the cen- 
tre and west of Cumberland. It might be- 
come fairly numerous were it not that the 
value of local specimens often tempts the 
cupidity of keepers who naturally enough are 
glad to add to their modest income by trap- 
ping any ‘marts’ that come in their way. 
Mr. F. Nicholson, who has paid great atten- 
tion to this animal in Cumberland, considers 
that it is fairly constant to its customary 
haunts. ‘The pine marten of our hills is not 
to any great extent a woodland animal, pre- 
ferring to make its home in inaccessible crags, 
from which it descends to raid the rabbit 
warrens in the valleys. Most of the speci- 
13. Fox. 
mens that have come under my notice in a 
fresh state had been killed in winter when the 
pelt of this animal is much finer than during 
the summer months. As long as these ani- 
mals were tolerably numerous they used to be 
hunted by the dalesmen, and many a spirited 
chase has been described to me by venerable 
sportsmen. The number of martens killed 
in a season was never very large, but the 
sport experienced was of first rate quality, for 
the pine marten is a game and resourceful 
quarry. 
15. Polecat. Putorius putorius, Linn. 
Bell— Mustela putorius. 
Locally, Foumart, Foul Mart. 
The mosses of the low lying country were 
always more to the taste of this animal than 
our high dales; but a few foumarts lingered 
around outlying homesteads in the hills until 
exterminated by rabbit traps. Thrustonfield 
has long been a noted haunt of foumarts, ow- 
ing no doubt to its contiguity to many wet 
moors and commons; from this point fou- 
marts used to travel all over the Holme Cul- 
tram district, with its numerous flows and 
bogs. The polecat is easily tracked by its 
footprints in newly fallen snow. John Daw- 
son of Allonby has lived all his life in a good 
district for foumarts and is a noted tracker of 
wild animals. He does not consider that fou- 
marts are quite extinct (1900) in the neigh- 
bourhood of the Solway Firth; that they 
are very scarce may be surmised from the 
fact that only two local specimens entered 
my hands in seventeen years’ residence. Both 
of these were bitches, trapped near Silloth in 
October, 1893, and September, 1894. Re- 
ports from the south and east of Cumberland 
are unanimous in representing the foumart as 
locally all but extinct. Many particulars re- 
garding the life history of this animal will be 
found in the Fauna of Lakeland, pp. 27-35. 
16, Stoat. Putorius ermineus, Linn.. 
Bell—Mustela erminea. 
Fairly common, especially in parts of the 
county where there is little game-preserving. 
I have seen some beautiful white stoats in 
the banks and hedges close to the sea, where 
snow seldom lies for many days. The largest 
stoat that I have handled was killed on our 
northern borders in March, 1885. It mea- 
sured thirteen inches in the flesh. 
17. Weasel. Putorius nivalis, Linn. 
Bell—Mustela vulgaris. 
This little animal is very common in all 
parts of the county, and shows no signs of 
ever becoming scarce. Reports of pure white 
specimens have reached me on more than one 
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