RECORDS IN ENGLAND AND WALES. 21 



Hertfordshire in 1875, in Lincolnshire in 1881, and 

 in the Isle of Wight in 1877, must be taken 

 " cum grano." They were probably the offspring of 

 Domestic Cats run wild. Wild they were no doubt, 

 but not the genuine Felis sylvestris. The editor of 

 the ' Zoologist,' remarking on one of these reports, 

 says : — " We are extremely sceptical in regard to 

 the alleged existence of Wild Cats in the south of 

 England at the present day, and notwithstanding the 

 colour and large size of many of the animals killed, 

 we cannot help regarding them as of hearth-rug 

 ancestry." 



The Wild Cat of mediaeval days, the Felis sylvestris 

 of the old authors, has been quite extinct in England 

 for nearly half a century, supposing even that the 

 Cat killed by Lord Eavensworth was an example 

 of the old race ; but it is probable its extermination 

 would date many years previous to 1 853. 



In Wales the Wild Cat must have been as preva- 

 lent as in England, or even more so, owing to the 

 nature of the country. When it became extinct is 

 difficult to ascertain. 



Professor Boyd Dawkins states that the Wild Cat 

 still lingers in South Wales, near Tenby; and other 

 writers say the same, without giving any authority. 

 Professor Mivaet considers that the Wild Cat has 

 been extinct in Wales for certainly the last twenty 

 years. 



The last record of a Wild, or supposed Wild, Cat 

 in Wales is from a Mr. W. Jones, who states that 

 one was trapped in Montgomeryshire in 1864, which 

 weighed 11 pounds. 



