sitated a much briefer treatment of the subject in the journals referred to than is here attempted, and to these essays, now presented to the reader in a consolidated form, considerable additions have been made.

That the subject admits of still further amplification the author is well aware; but "ars longa vita brevis est," and the materials at present collected have already assumed such dimensions, that it has been deemed preferable to offer them to the reader in their present form, rather than postpone publication indefinitely, in the hope of some day realizing an ideal state of perfection.

Should the present volume pave the way for future research on the part of others, the Author will be amongst the first to welcome the result of their labours. He has already to acknowledge his indebtedness to Dr. J. A. Smith and Messrs. Edward Alston, J. A. Harvie Brown, and J. P. Hoare, whose taste in the same line of research has prompted them to favour him with several interesting communications, which have been embodied in the following pages; while to Dr. Smith he is especially obliged for the use of four woodcuts which were prepared to illustrate papers of his own in the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland."

In regard to that portion of the present work which treats of the ancient breed of wild white cattle, it may be thought, by some, a little presumptuous on the part of the writer to deal with a subject on which an entire volume has been so recently and so ably written by the late Mr. Storer. But it should be stated that almost all the materials for this portion of the book were not only collected long before Mr. Storer's work was published, but were on the eve of being incorporated in an important essay by Mr. Edward Alston, which was nearly ready for the press when Mr. Storer's volume appeared.

It would be ungenerous, however, on the part of the writer were he to withhold an acknowledgment of his indebtedness to Mr. Storer's work for many useful additions to his own (each, in fact, containing something which the other had not), and in particular for several details of the former extent of ancient forests, which have been embodied in the Introduction.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

THE BEAR

Fossil Cranium of Bear, Dumfriesshire.
Recent Cranium of Bear. Under Surface
Bear Hunt. From an old print.
Anglo-Saxon Gleemen's Bear Dance

Bear-baiting. From a carved seat of the 14th century 25

THE BEAVER .

Cranium from the English Fens. Upper Surface
The same. Under Surface

Lower Jaw of Beaver from the English Fens
A Beaver at work

Fragments of Reindeer's Horn, from Caithness
Antler of Reindeer, from Orkney

THE WILD BOAR

Wild Boar Hunting. From a MS. of the 9th century
Spearing a Boar.
From a MS. of the 14th century

Skull of Wild Boar

Tracking a Wild Boar. Sixteenth century
Group of Wild Boars, from a carved horn.
The Boar's Head, Eastcheap

THE WOLF

Skull of Wolf.

Cranium of Wolf.

77

79

85

Skull of Wild Ox, Lancashire

Coin of Cunobelin, with Wild Ox on reverse

Wild Bull of Chartley