208 



ON THE BEAVERS OF SCOTLAND. 



Hywel Dha, where the prices of furs are regulat- 

 ed, 



The Marten's skin is valued at 24 d. 



The Otter's (Ddyfrgi or Lutra) at 12 d. 



The Beaver's (Llosdlydan or Castor) at no less 

 than 120 d. or at five times the price of the marten's 

 fur, and ten times the price of the otter's. It thus 

 appears, that the beaver was then hunted in Wales 

 for the sake of its fur ; that this skin was held in 

 high estimation ; and that the beaver had already, 

 before the close of the 9th century, become a scarce 

 animal in this country. 



The next authority is contained in the " Itine- 

 rarium Cambriae" of Giraldus de Barri. This wri- 

 ter, it may be remarked, made his journey into 

 Wales, towards the end of the 12th century, as the 

 attendant of Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, 

 whose zeal led him personally to excite the Welch- 

 men to join in the projected crusades. That Giral- 

 dus was inclined to be an observer of nature, is prov- 

 ed by the single fact, that when he arrives on the 

 confines of the river Teivi in Cardiganshire, he im- 

 mediately makes a long digression on the natural 

 history of the beaver. Although he rehearses some 

 of the exploded fables of the ancients, yet other parts 

 of his account are very accurate, and may be consi- 

 dered as bearing the marks of a description made 

 from actual observation. In the simple and bold 

 language of a man who knew the truth of what 

 he was- writing, he says of x the Teivi, " Inter uni- 



