1902 Breeding Season of the Dormouse 23 



these are in abeyance, the reptile then exhibiting one of the 

 most curious and wonderful examples of animal nature in 

 adaptation to its environment that is to be found in the 

 whole realm of organic life. 



A Note on the Breeding Season of the 

 Dormouse. 



By H. E. Forrest. 



The disputed question as to what is the precise time of 

 the year when the dormouse has her litter is one which can 

 only be answered by the field naturalist. It is truly 

 astonishing that even at the present day very little is 

 actually known concerning the reproduction of our smaller 

 British mammals. As regards the dormouse, English zoolo- 

 gists all say that it breeds in the spring, whilst some suggest 

 that it litters again in the autumn. Brehm, however, says 

 that in Germany it litters in autumn. It is hardly conceiv- 

 able that British dormice have a different habit in this 

 matter from that of their Continental cousins. What, then, 

 are we to believe ? Whilst admitting that the species does 

 perhaps litter both in spring and autumn, personally I 

 rather incline to the belief that only one brood is reared, and 

 that in autumn. In the coppices and hedgerows round my 

 house the dormouse is rather numerous, and I have ex- 

 amined scores of nests, and have found, or have been shown, 

 four litters of young, all in the autumn, the earliest of these 

 being on August 28. 



The nests are generally placed in a hedge, and fixed from 

 3 to 6 feet above the ground. They are almost invariably 

 constructed of honeysuckle bark, the coarser strips being 

 utilised for the outside, the finer shreds reserved for the 

 interior, with dead leaves and sometimes moss, the latter 

 doubtless added for warmth. This material would not be 

 available in a sufficiently pliable state for nest -building 

 except in the autumn. If the dormouse litters in the spring, 

 then it must build a nest of some other material, for I am 



