of Leeds and its Vicinity. 385 



each other ; if so, they must have some peculiarly vulnerable 

 part at which the antagonist aims, and from which death will 

 ensue quickly, without showing any outward scars : whatever 

 the cause may be, it must result from some sudden effect, as 

 the animals appear in good condition and not wasted by dis- 

 ease. If the former account be correct, it is still to be dis- 

 covered what causes this pugnacious propensity, for did it 

 arise during the season of pairing the victims would be males ; 

 but I am not aware whether it is the fact that one sex suffers 

 more than the other, nor whether the autumn is the season of 

 love. The Shrews are very much infested by two small spe- 

 cies of Acarus ; and I once found a minute Pulex, but never 

 discovered a single example of Pediculus. 



The Hedgehog is tolerably plentiful in some parts, but 

 rather local in others ; for instance, I am informed that in the 

 neighbourhood of Hebden Bridge, near Halifax, it is rarely 

 ever seen. Is this owing to the district being more moun- 

 tainous and bleak ? Of the Vespertilionidce I have observed 

 only four species : Vespertilio Noctula, the most common, on 

 the meadows near the town, hawking about after insects. The 

 Natter eri I believe has never been recorded as a Yorkshire spe- 

 cies ; a living pair however were brought me for the Museum 

 of our Society last June taken out of an old tree in Oakwell 

 Wood near Birstall. The Plecotus auritus is next to the 

 Noctula in point of frequency,, generally dashing along the 

 streets on a summer's evening and entering old buildings. The 

 pipistrellus, though not so common as the last, is by no means 

 scarce, and frequents the same localities. Of the Glires, in 

 addition to the common mouse, which appears, like the nettle, 

 to be a general associate of man, we have, with two excep- 

 tions, all the British species. The Mus sylvaticus, which is 

 plentiful, assumes a grayish colour towards winter, and in 

 some specimens loses nearly all the white on the under parts 

 of the body. I am informed there is a small mouse which 

 builds its nest amongst bushes on marshes near Selby. I 

 have only seen a skeleton which was said to belong to this 

 species, which however did not present any peculiar character 

 except size. The Harvest Mouse, Mus messorius, I have 

 never seen. The Brown Rat, it is almost superfluous to say* 



Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol. 5. No. 33. Aug. 1840. 2 e 



