6 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
Rovine Disposition oF THE Marten. 
Leaving out of the calculation those counties where the 
Marten is believed still to exist, it will be observed that isolated 
examples have occurred within the last thirty years in the 
counties of Cheshire, Hereford, Montgomery, Flint, Shropshire, 
Lancashire, and Yorkshire; as well as further off in the eastern 
counties of Lincoln, Leicester, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Surrey. 
In nearly every county mentioned the Marten had been 
regarded as long extinct. In some instances intervals of twenty, 
thirty, and even forty years had elapsed since the last previous 
record; when without the slightest indication of the animal’s 
existence in the neighbourhood a Marten has been seen, trapped, 
or shot. i 
Take Shropshire, for example. The last prior record was in 
1862. During the ensuing forty-five years there was not even a 
rumour of the existence of the Marten within the limits of the 
county, and the species was regarded as locally extinct. Yet in 
the spring of 1907 two Martens—both females—were taken within 
a fortnight at places only a few miles apart, and in the same 
part of the county as the 1862 example. 
Somewhat similar are the records for the counties to the 
north—Montgomery, Flint, and Cheshire. In the first of these 
a period of thirty years elapsed between. the two examples being 
obtained. But in the other cases the events are rendered still 
more remarkable by the nature of the localities. Two Martens 
were obtained in 1891, within a few days of one another, at 
Hope (Flintshire) and Eaton (Cheshire), whilst in 1892 another 
was taken at Connah’s Quay (Flintshire). Allthese three places 
are within ten miles of one another, but they are of a character 
quite unsuited to such an animal as the Marten. Haton Park 
is the seat of the Duke of Westminster ; it is flat country, laid 
out artificially in plantations and ornamental grounds. Con- 
nah’s Quay is a dreary flat alongside of the Dee estuary, chiefly 
used as a place for shipping slates. Hope is not quite so un- 
suitable, but lies low in a fairly populous and cultivated district. 
T cannot believe that any of these five Martens, nor the two 
recent Shropshire examples, belonged to the districts where 
they were taken ; neither do I believe they had been there any 
length of time. How, then, can their presence be accounted 
