i8o 



NOTES— ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 



Seasonal Changes in the Fallow Deer. — The Hon. Gerald Lascelles has 

 some interesting not;s in the October " Zoologist " on the changes of colour in 

 the fallow deer as observed in the New Forest. He thinks that " the change of 

 coat that takes place in this species when, as in the New Forest, in a perfectly- 

 wild condition has escaped the notice of naturalists, and that a description of 

 what annually occurs among these deer may be of interest. In the New Forest, 

 during May, June, July, and August, a// the fallow deer are uniformly of a light 

 red colour, spotted thickly on the flanks with white and light grey spots — such, 

 in fact, as in parks are termed ' fallow' deer. In September the coat begins to 

 change, and by November a// the deer are uniformly a very dark brown, almost 

 black, on the back and sides, shading off to a light dun on the flanks, belly and 

 legs, without any spots at all. The white patch below the tail is unaltered, but 

 is rather more conspicuous in winter than in summer, owing to the darker colour 

 of the animal. In some individuals the spots in summer are brighter and more 

 numerous than in others ; in winter there is but little difference, except that the 

 bucks are, as a rule, slightly lighter in shade than the does. Both of these winter 

 and summer colours are common enough in parks ; but in every case that has 

 come under my observation, those deer which are red and spotted in the summer, 

 remain of the same hue in the winter ; and those which are dark or black at one 

 season of the year remain of that colour during the whole twelvemonth. What 

 would be interesting to know is, whether in other places where fallow deer are 

 genuinely wild— not where semi-domesticated deer have been turned out, and 

 allowed to breed — the same biennial change of colour takes place, and if so, how 

 it comes about that confinement in a confined space has altered the habit of the 

 species, as in most parks it certainly has." In all probability, the deer in our own 

 Epping Forest are at least as ancient as those in New Forest, and we should be 

 glad to hear from an3'^one who has observed them carefully at different times of 

 the year whether there are in them any seasonal changes similar to those observed 

 by Mr. Lascelles. The dark colour of our deer would mask the changes in tint, but 

 still some differences may exist between that of the summer and winter coats. — Ed. 



Capture of Otters near Chelmsford. — According to the " Essex County 

 Standard " of October 8th, a fine bitch otter was trapped on the navigation river, 

 near the third lock, a few miles from Chelmsford, and is alive, in the possession 

 of the lock-man. About a fortnight ago a male was similarly caught and killed 

 in the same place, and was found to weigh upwards of 23 lbs. The female is 

 nearly as large. 



A Fine Pike at Heybridge. — " Mr. Frank Anderson, a well-known member 

 of the Maldon Angling Club, fishing in the Chelmer Navigation the other day, 

 near He3'bridge, captured a fine pike, which measured 2 feet lo| inches from snout 

 to tail and 7^ across the side. It scaled 1 1 lbs. 12 ozs." — ' Essex County Standard," 

 November 19th, 1892. 



Clouded Yellow Butterflies in Essex in 1892. — The " Entomologist " for 

 November contains some additional records, which may be inserted as supple- 

 mentary to those printed ante pp. 130, 140. Mr. Laddeman writes that "on the 

 23rd of August, I captured four Colias ediisa, two males and two females, and saw 

 about forty others, on a piece of rough ground near the rifle range at High Beach, 

 Epping Forest. On the 24th, I saw another fly across the road near the ' Wake 

 Arms.' The greater proportion of those seen appeared to be males." Mr. F. 



