INTEODUCED SPECIES. 



Mammals. 



Birds. 



Although several species of Mammals have become extinct in 

 Lakeland during the last hundred years, it does not appear that 

 a single species has been successfully acclimatised. Indeed, the 

 Fallow Deer appears to be the only quadruped that we can 

 claim with positive assurance as having been introduced into 

 Lakeland, since the heavy tramp of the Eoman legion ceased to 

 awake reverberating echoes among the crags which crown our 

 mountain precipices. There is some reason, however, to suppose 

 that Lepus variabilis has been turned down in Lakeland. The 

 late Jerry Smith assured me that General Wyndham turned 

 down some blue hares on Skiddaw. It may well be, that this, or 

 some similar experiment, gave rise to Murray's statement that 

 the animal in question ' is sometimes found [in the south of 

 Scotland and] even in Cumberland/ x The Eomans might very 

 well have introduced the Fat Dormouse (Myoxus glis) into our 

 coverts, just as they acclimatised Helix pomatia at many of their 

 British stations ; but they seem to have had too serious fighting 

 in Northern Britain to spend much time on the pleasures of the 

 table. 



Several attempts have been made to introduce American 

 species of birds into Lakeland. For example, a consignment of 

 three hundred eggs of the Pinnated Grouse (Cupidonia cupido) 

 reached Liverpool from the States of Ohio and Illinois in June 

 1874. Some of these are said to have been sent to the late Mr. 

 Jackson Gillbanks of Whitefield House, near Ireby, as well as to 

 the then Lord Bishop of Carlisle. 2 There does not at present seem 

 to be any information regarding the fate of these eggs, but we 

 must conclude that the experiment proved a failure. The Vir- 



1 Geographical Distribution of Mammals, p. 252. 



2 Whitehaven News, July 2, 1874. 



