When the ancients departed, great numbers of their cattle perished. It was not so much the want of food as the inability to endure exposure that caused their death; a few winters are related to have so reduced them that they died by hundreds, many mangled1 by dogs. The hardiest2 that remained became perfectly3 wild, and the wood cattle are now more difficult to approach than deer.
There are two kinds, the white and the black. The white (sometimes dun) are believed to be the survivors4 of the domestic roan-and-white, for the cattle in our enclosures at the present day are of that colour. The black are smaller, and are doubtless little changed from their state in the olden times, except that they are wild. These latter are timid, unless accompanied by a calf5, and are rarely known to turn upon their pursuers. But the white are fierce at all times; they will not, indeed, attack man, but will scarcely run from him, and it is not always safe to cross their haunts.
The bulls are savage6 beyond measure at certain seasons of the year. If they see men at a distance, they retire; if they come unexpectedly face to face, they attack. This characteristic enables those who travel through districts known to be haunted by white cattle to provide against an encounter, for, by occasionally blowing a horn, the herd7 that may be in the vicinity is dispersed8. There are not often more than twenty in a herd. The hides of the dun are highly prized, both for their intrinsic value, and as proofs of skill and courage, so much so that you shall hardly buy a skin for all the money you may offer; and the horns are likewise trophies9. The white or dun bull is the monarch10 of our forests.
Four kinds of wild pigs are found. The most numerous, or at least the most often seen, as it lies about our enclosures, is the common thorn-hog11. It is the largest of the wild pigs, long-bodied and flat-sided, in colour much the hue12 of the mud in which it wallows. To the agriculturist it is the greatest pest, destroying or damaging all kinds of crops, and routing up the gardens. It is with difficulty kept out by palisading, for if there be a weak place in the wooden framework, the strong snout of the animal is sure to undermine and work a passage through.
As there are always so many of these pigs round about inhabited places and cultivated fields, constant care is required, for they instantly discover an opening. From their habit of haunting the thickets14 and bush which come up to the verge15 of the enclosures, they have obtained the name of thorn-hogs. Some reach an immense size, and they are very prolific16, so that it is impossible to destroy them. The boars are fierce at a particular season, but never attack unless provoked to do so. But when driven to bay they are the most dangerous of the boars, on account of their vast size and weight. They are of a sluggish17 disposition18, and will not rise from their lairs19 unless forced to do so.
The next kind is the white hog, which has much the same habits as the former, except that it is usually found in moist places, near lakes and rivers, and is often called the marsh-pig. The third kind is perfectly black, much smaller in size, and very active, affording by far the best sport, and also the best food when killed. As they are found on the hills where the ground is somewhat more open, horses can follow freely, and the chase becomes exciting. By some it is called the hill-hog, from the locality it frequents. The small tusks20 of the black boar are used for many ornamental21 purposes.
These three species are considered to be the descendants of the various domestic pigs of the ancients, but the fourth, or grey, is thought to be the true wild boar. It is seldom seen, but is most common in the south-western forests, where, from the quantity of fern, it is called the fern-pig. This kind is believed to represent the true wild boar, which was extinct, or merged22 in the domestic hog among the ancients, except in that neighbourhood where the strain remained.
With wild times, the wild habits have returned, and the grey boar is at once the most difficult of access, and the most ready to encounter either dogs or men. Although the first, or thorn-hog, does the most damage to the agriculturist because of its numbers, and its habit of haunting the neighbourhood of enclosures, the others are equally injurious if they chance to enter the cultivated fields.
The three principal kinds of wild sheep are the horned, the thyme, and the meadow. The thyme sheep are the smallest, and haunt the highest hills in the south, where, feeding on the sweet herbage of the ridges23, their flesh is said to acquire a flavour of wild thyme. They move in small flocks of not more than thirty, and are the most difficult to approach, being far more wary24 than deer, so continuously are they hunted by the wood-dogs. The horned are larger, and move in greater numbers; as many as two hundred are sometimes seen together.
They are found on the lower slopes and plains, and in the woods. The meadow sheep have long shaggy wool, which is made into various articles of clothing, but they are not numerous. They haunt river sides, and the shores of lakes and ponds. None of these are easily got at, on account of the wood-dogs; but the rams25 of the horned kind are reputed to sometimes turn upon the pursuing pack, and butt26 them to death. In the extremity27 of their terror whole flocks of wild sheep have been driven over precipices28 and into quagmires29 and torrents30.
Besides these, there are several other species whose haunt is local. On the islands, especially, different kinds are found. The wood-dogs will occasionally, in calm weather, swim out to an island and kill every sheep upon it.
From the horses that were in use among the ancients the two wild species now found are known to have descended31, a fact confirmed by their evident resemblance to the horses we still retain. The largest wild horse is almost black, or inclined to a dark colour, somewhat less in size than our present waggon32 horses, but of the same heavy make. It is, however, much swifter, on account of having enjoyed liberty for so long. It is called the bush-horse, being generally distributed among thickets and meadow-like lands adjoining water.
The other species is called the hill-pony, from its habitat, the hills, and is rather less in size than our riding-horse. This latter is short and thick-set, so much so as not to be easily ridden by short persons without high stirrups. Neither of these wild horses are numerous, but neither are they uncommon33. They keep entirely34 separate from each other. As many as thirty mares are sometimes seen together, but there are districts where the traveller will not observe one for weeks.
Tradition says that in the olden times there were horses of a slender build whose speed outstripped35 the wind, but of the breed of these famous racers not one is left. Whether they were too delicate to withstand exposure, or whether the wild dogs hunted them down is uncertain, but they are quite gone. Did but one exist, how eagerly it would be sought out, for in these days it would be worth its weight in gold, unless, indeed, as some affirm, such speed only endured for a mile or two.
It is not necessary, having written thus far of the animals, that anything be said of the birds of the woods, which every one knows were not always wild, and which can, indeed, be compared with such poultry36 as are kept in our enclosures. Such are the bush-hens, the wood-turkeys, the galenæ, the peacocks, the white duck and the white goose, all of which, though now wild as the hawk37, are well known to have been once tame.
There were deer, red and fallow, in numerous parks and chases of very old time, and these, having got loose, and having such immense tracts38 to roam over unmolested, went on increasing till now they are beyond computation, and I have myself seen a thousand head together. Within these forty years, as I learn, the roe-deer, too, have come down from the extreme north, so that there are now three sorts in the woods. Before them the pine-marten came from the same direction, and, though they are not yet common, it is believed they are increasing. For the first few years after the change took place there seemed a danger lest the foreign wild beasts that had been confined as curiosities in menageries should multiply and remain in the woods. But this did not happen.
Some few lions, tigers, bears, and other animals did indeed escape, together with many less furious creatures, and it is related that they roamed about the fields for a long time. They were seldom met with, having such an extent of country to wander over, and after a while entirely disappeared. If any progeny39 were born, the winter frosts must have destroyed it, and the same fate awaited the monstrous40 serpents which had been collected for exhibition. Only one such animal now exists which is known to owe its origin to those which escaped from the dens13 of the ancients. It is the beaver41, whose dams are now occasionally found upon the streams by those who traverse the woods. Some of the aquatic42 birds, too, which frequent the lakes, are thought to have been originally derived43 from those which were formerly44 kept as curiosities.
In the castle yard at Longtover may still be seen the bones of an elephant which was found dying in the woods near that spot.
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1
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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hardiest
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| 能吃苦耐劳的，坚强的( hardy的最高级 )； （植物等）耐寒的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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hog
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| n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占 | |
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12
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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13
dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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lairs
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| n.（野兽的）巢穴，窝( lair的名词复数 )；（人的）藏身处 | |
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20
tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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21
ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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22
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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24
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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rams
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| n.公羊( ram的名词复数 )；(R-)白羊（星）座；夯；攻城槌v.夯实（土等）( ram的第三人称单数 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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27
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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29
quagmires
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| n.沼泽地，泥潭( quagmire的名词复数 ) | |
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30
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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31
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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waggon
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| n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱 | |
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33
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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35
outstripped
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| v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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37
hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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38
tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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39
progeny
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| n.后代，子孙；结果 | |
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40
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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41
beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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42
aquatic
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| adj.水生的，水栖的 | |
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43
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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44
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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