86 The Irish Naturalist. 



is possible that the Harp Seal {P. grcenlandicd) and the 

 Hooded Seal {Cystophora cristaia) have occurred (pages 158 

 and 160). 



Pages 164 to 232 of Mr. Lydekker's work are devoted to the 



important order of the Rodentia, first among which we come 



to the Squirrel {Sciu7'tis imlgaris), and here we miss an 



allusion to Mr. R. M. Barrington's paper on the distribution of 



the Squirrel in Ireland,' an important paper, which should 



not have been passed over, though, since it was written, 



Squirrels, which have been introduced in many parts of the 



country, have considerably increased their range. On the 



changes of the colour of the Squirrel at different times of the 



year, Mr. L3^dekker quotes Macgillivray and Bell. A series of 



skins all collected at the same place and for each month of 



the year shows us, how^ever, that we cannot, like the former 



naturalist, lay down any fixed rule as to the exact time of 



year when the changes will occur. Probably the Squirrel 



moults twice in the year — roughly speaking, in spring and 



autumn, and before each moult the old coat becomes thin and 



faded, but we can lay down no special time for such change to 



take place — indeed some vSpecimens received during the late 



frost were already losing their winter coat. It follows from 



the amount of individual variation shown that the light 



cream-coloured tail may be observed at almost all times of the 



year, and this we have actually found to be the case. The 



statements of Bell- notwithstanding, w^e have notes of having 



seen Squirrels with cream-coloured tails in March, May, June, 



July, August, and December. The assertion that " the 



female produces three or four young ones about mid-summer" 



appears to have been adopted from Bell,^ and we must refer 



our readers to notes^ of newly-born Squirrels found in the 



second week of February, and in March. We ourselves have 



seen quite young and blind Squirrels taken from the nest on 



August 14th, 1891, in Ireland — a fact w^hich, perhaps, indicates 



the birth of two lots of 3^oung in the }'ear. 



Passing over the Beaver, the Dor-mouse, and the Harvest- 

 mouse, which species do not appear to have ever occurred in 



^ Proc. R.I. A , n.s. vol. ii., 1880. 



2 " Hist, of British Quadrupeds," (Ed. ii.), p. 279. 



8 Op. cit. p. 278. * Field, March 6th, 1886. Zoologist, March, 1891. 



