290 REVIEW— THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH DEVON- 
point, move in conformity with its undulations, are sufficient to 
attract the notice even of the incurious. In this sterile spot 
the most common creature excites regard ; and those which are 
peculiarly its own cannot fail to be contemplated with much in- 
terest. ” 
The present state of Dartmoor would by no means lead to the 
belief of its supporting more than two or three quadrupeds of the 
smaller kind, such as the rabbit, mole, weasel, and stoat; but, if 
we may believe the author, they were formerly exceedingly nu- 
merous, such as the wolf, the brown bear, the boar, the wild ox, 
the red deer, the elk, and the wild cat and the goat ; “ there 
being undeniable evidence/’ he says, “ that the central depart- 
ment of Dartmoor was in former years a forest, and that it was 
set apart for the king’s use as a royal chase. The wolf appears 
to have become extinct in Dartmoor about the close of the reign 
of Elizabeth ; it was a pure native of our country, and required 
great exertions for its removal. The bear seems to have been ex- 
tirpated in the eleventh century; the boar and wild ox have been 
taken under the protection of man, and the date of extirpation 
of the wild stock is not recorded. That noble animal, the red 
deer, was, until within the last fifty years, pretty common in the 
remote wooded districts of the county ; its race, too, has under- 
gone extirpation in a very gradual manner. 
“ But other animals than these once ranged the woods and 
forests of Devon, inhabited its lakes and rivers, and raced over 
its plains ; for there have been discovered, in caves of limestone 
in South Devon, remains of the tiger, hyaena, elephant, rhino- 
ceros, and hippopotamus, in company with those of the horse, 
ox, sheep, pig, wolf, bear, and deer. The four stations at which 
these fossiliferous caverns occur are, Oreston, Yealmpton, Berry 
Head, and Torquay ; and their perfect similarity to those of 
other caves in different parts of England and the continent 
establishes their identification with the series, — a series exhibit- 
ing a probability that, at the period when these animals inhabited 
Devonshire, circumstances were in a great measure different to 
those now present, since they seem to have been unsuited to the 
existence of a vast variety of beings now constituting the natural 
products of the warmest portions of our globe. The elephant 
would need forest tracts ; the rhinoceros, marshy lands of some 
extent; and the hippopotamus large lakes, or deep and capa- 
cious rivers ; morasses, jungles, and extensive shelter, would be 
required for the accommodation of tigers, hysenas, boars, wolves, 
&c., and plains for the horse and peaceful ruminants.” 
Our readers will recollect our remarks on the subject, “ on the 
Geological History of the Horse,” in the January and February 
