THE ZOOLOGIST 



THIRD SERIES. 



Vol. XVII.] MAY, 1893. [No. ]97. 



THE BEITISH MARTEN 



MABTES SYLVATICA, Nilsson. 



By the Editor. 



(Continued from Zool. 1892, p. 138). 



In 'The Zoologist' for 1891 (pp. 401— 409) I commenced 

 to give some account of the Marten as one of our rarest 

 indigenous mammals, and in a subsequent article (pp. 450 — 459) 

 some attempt was made to trace its distribution throughout 

 the English counties. In the volume for 1892 (pp. 131—138) 

 some important additions were made to the records from informa- 

 tion supplied by various correspondents, and finally I stopped 

 short of Wales, reserving for some future occasion a transcript 

 of my notes relating to the occurrence of this animal in the 

 principality. 



The zoology of the Welsh counties has been unaccountably 

 neglected since the days of Pennant and Bingley, and little has 

 been published on the subject, with the exception of a few local 

 lists of Birds. The Mammals have hardly been noticed, beyond 

 the occasional insertion in this journal, and in * The Field,' of a 

 few lines reporting the occurrence of some of the rarer animals, 

 such as the Marten and the Polecat. And yet, considering the 

 wildness of the country and the many suitable haunts which 

 must surely exist in some of the wooded and less populated 

 parts of Wales, it is probable that these creatures, if looked for 

 by competent naturalists, would be found to be less rare than is 

 commonly supposed. From time to time I have made notes of 



ZOOLOGIST. MAY, ]893. 



