36 



NOTES— MAMMALIA. 



Albino Moles in Coverdale and Nidderdale.— There is now a 

 case containing three White Moles .{Talpa europcea) — stuffed specimens, at 

 Gowthwaite Hall, Pateley Bridge, which were obtained by Mr. C. Dixon at 

 Cover Head in Coverdale ; they were obtained five and eight years ago 

 respectively. Mr. Dixon has also caught White Moles at Angram in Nidderdale. 

 — Wm. Storey, Pateley Bridge, December 31st, 1885. 



Red Deer in Nidderdale. —There were in June 1885, in Hare well 

 Woods (a patch of the old forest of Nidderdale), a pair of Red Deer ( Ceruus 

 elaphus). Red Deer have now been observed in these woods for the past seven 

 years, and have probably escaped from Studley Park, having been repeatedly seen 

 in Sawley Woods, which adjoin Studley. In the years 1880, 1881, 1882, and 1884 

 kids were noticed, but I very much regret some ill-disposed persons shot a kid in 

 the last-named year. I have spoken to several landowners in this neighbourhood, 

 who have promised every attention to their preservation. They usually arrive early 

 in the spring, and disappear in the autumn. — William Storey, Pateley Bridge. 



Records of Captures of Badgers in Yorkshire.— The following 

 records of the occurrence of the Badger in Yorkshire are all that I have met with 

 down to the beginning of 1883 ; perhaps some other correspondents of the 

 Naturalist may be able to make additions from Naturalists' Societies' Reports, 

 newspapers, or magazines, so as to make a more complete list. 



Two at Walton Hall, captured alive in 1826. Waterton's Essays. [viii, 188. 

 One at Hardplatts Wood, Stainland, Halifax, in 1832. C. C. Hanson, Nat., 

 Two captured at Hackfall, about 1862. E. F. Firby, Nat., ii, 55. 

 Two at Kirklees, date not given. Hobkirk's ' Huddersfield,' Ed. 1871. 

 One captured September 23rd, 1877, near Ripponden. ' F. G. S. Rawson, 



' Rural Notes,' 1877. 

 One captured at Pickering in 1879. R. Andrews, Nat., v, 53. 

 -One at Bramham Park, March 1880. J. Emmet, Nat., v, 140. 

 One at Rishworth, about 1880. C. C. Hanson, Nat., viii, 108. 

 One captured alive near Yarm, January 1882. W. Gregson, Nat., vii, 146. 

 One killed at Saltburn, May 20th, 1882. T. Raine, Nat., vii, 201. 

 One at Wentbridge, exhibited at the White Horse Inn, 'a few years since,' no 



date given. T. W. Tew. 

 One caught near Yarm, January 1883. W. Gregson, Nat., viii, 123. 



George Roberts, Lofthouse, near Wakefield. 

 Former occurrence of Badgers in North Lancashire.— 



Formerly the Badger {Meles taxus) was tolerably common, and badger-baiting was 

 a favourite pastime with the inhabitants of this part of the county — North 

 Lancashire. Badger-baiting ranked third in the catalogue of manly (?) sports, 

 bull and bear-baiting taking the precedence ; but it mainly fell into disuse about half a 

 century ago, although the practice was kept up in the secluded country places 

 until a more recent date. Some of the old inhabitants delight in narrating 

 incidents connected with this 'glorious sport,' and dwell with glee upon the 

 exciting spectacle, extolling the prowess of the different dogs which in turn essayed 

 to ' draw the badger ' from the tub or kennel in which it was placed. An old 

 local name for the badger is ' brock,' and it is considered by many eminent writers 

 that a number of place names are derived from it. Thus, in this neighbourhood, 

 we have the Brock, a lovely stream, whose picturesque and well-wooded banks 

 seem peculiarly suited as a habitat for this animal, and where it formerly abounded ; 

 and there is an old county family near Garstang of the name of Brockholes, 

 whose coat of arms is the brock, or badger. There is also a large township called 

 Higher and Lower Brockholes. The steep and thickly wooded banks of the 

 Ribble at Red Scar were formerly a favourite haunt of this animal, and I have 

 heard an old farmer talk of them being common there, and tell of the tons of sand 

 they used to excavate from their burrows ; but, so far as I can ascertain, it is some 

 time since any were observed in this place. I may mention, incidentally, that the 

 term ' badger ' is very generally applied, in this part of Lancashire, to small 

 dealers in greengrocery — e.g. , ' potato-badger ' — although I am at a loss to account 



for its being so applied. — Robert Standen, Goosnargh, near Preston. 



Naturalist, 



