A HISTORY OF DEVONSHIRE 



20. Badger, Metes meles, Linn. 



Bell — Meles taxus. 

 Though frequently met with, this harmless 

 creature is not, as it is just now in the north 

 of Cornwall, anywhere common in this county. 

 Where a landowner protects it, it flourishes, 

 but if it has no friend at court the poor 

 animal is persecuted and captured, and too 

 often, we fear, in spite of legal enactments, 

 done to death, after inflicting serious injury 

 upon the dogs set to draw it. 



21. Otter. Lutra Intra, Linn. 



Bell — Lutra vulgaris. 

 Common on all rivers of any size. Otter 

 hunting will be found dealt with in the 

 chapter on sport. 



22. Common Seal. Fhoco vitulina, Linn. 



On the north coast this seal is often ob- 

 served. On the south coast stragglers only 

 are met with. The last we have heard 

 of .was killed in the Teign river in March 

 1903. 



23. Grey Seal. Halicharus grypus, Fabricius. 



Bell — Halicharus gryphus. 



A fine female of this species, measuring 

 about 7 J feet from the tip of the snout to 

 the end of the tail, was caught in the trawl 

 net of the Electric, oflF the Eddystone 24 

 September 1891. It was purchased for the 

 British Museum, where the skin and skeleton 

 are preserved. 



RODENTIA 



24. Squirrel. Sciurus leucouruSyK-err. 



Bell — Sciurus vulgaris. 

 Common in all parts of the county where 

 there are woods or plantations. Although 

 squirrels dislike damp more than cold, they do 

 not approach the higher regions near the 

 moor. Individuals with white tails are often 

 noticed, and these have also white tips to their 

 ears. 



25. Dormouse. Muscardinus avellanarius, 



Linn. 



Bell — Myoxus avellanarius. 

 Not common in the south of the county. 

 Said to be abundant in the neighbourhood of 

 Exeter (W. S. M. D'Urban). My impres- 

 sion is that it is much scarcer than formerly. 

 Several were noticed in the autumn of 1879. 



26. Harvest Mouse. Mus minutus, Pallas. 

 Generally distributed in all parts of the 



county, but not common. 



27. Wood Mouse or Long-tailed Field Mouse. 



Mus sylvaticusy Linn. 



Common everywhere. 



28. House Mouse. Mus musculus, Linn. 

 Polwhele says that some years before the 



date of his writing several hundreds of white 

 mice presumably of this species were found 

 in a mow at Whiteway, Kingsteignton> 

 Albinos of all the small mammals occur. 



29. Black Rat. Mus rattus, Linn. 

 Polwhele {Hist. Devon, i. 129) says that be- 

 fore the grey, or as we now call it the brown 

 rat {M. decumanus), was known in England, the 

 black rat had overrun Lundy Island, and that 

 the craggy pyramidical rock there had obtained 

 from the frequency of this animal the name 



of Rat Island. He also says that the ' intro- 

 duction of the present destructive race of 

 grey rats into this country is within the 

 memory of many old men. An old carpenter 

 of the neighbourhood of Plympton who was 

 born in the year (17)23 informed me that 

 when he was a lad and worked with his 

 father, there were none but black rats known, 

 but that about this time a ship which arrived 

 at Oreston in the river Plym, and was there 

 broken up, brought this kind of rat,' * She 

 was called the Elizabeth, and the master's 

 name was Henley. 



This rat is now very scarce. I have no 

 note of its having been observed anywhere in 

 the county recently. I have the skin of a 

 parti-coloured individual. 



30. Brown Rat. Mus decumanus, Pallas. 

 Devon is by no means free from this des- 

 tructive little animal. 



3 1 . Field Vole. Microtus agrestis, Linn. 



Bell — Arvicola agrestis. 

 Common everywhere. 



32. Bank Vole. Evotomys glareolus, Schreber. 



Bell — jirvicola glareolus. 

 I have no knowledge of this species in 

 Devon. The Rev. W. S. Hore was a good 

 naturalist and observer, and he stated (Rowe's 

 Perambulation of Dartmoor, ed. 1 848, p. 236) 

 that he had met with it. In March 1879 a 

 living specimen captured at Ide near Exeter 

 was brought to Mr. W. S, M. D'Urban. 



33. Water Vole. Microtus amphibius, Linn. 



Bell — Arvicola amphibius. 

 Common everywhere. 



Polwhele's Devon, i. 1 29. 



338 



