70 



EODENTIA 



the manner of a hand to bring the stems to the mouth and 

 hold them in position. Tliey show no desire to harna each 

 other when in life, but the body of a dead companion is soon 

 attacked and devoured. Furnished with strong chisel-like 

 teeth, they are capable of making their escape in a very short 

 time from almost any kind of wooden box. When disturbed 

 or hungry they make a half grumbling, half squeaking noise, 

 very much the same as guinea-pigs do, only not so loud. 



The dimensions of this animal vary considerably, and do 

 not appear to me to be always accounted for by age and sex. 

 The following are a few measurements taken by myself from 

 specimens captured in the months of January, March, and 

 November : — 



BAXK YOLE. 



Arvicola glaeeolus (Schrch.). 



My recent investigations among our micro-mammals have 

 convinced me that the Bank Yole is common all along the 

 valley of the Forth, and in all likelihood the same may be said 

 of the Tay and the Tweed. It appears, however, to be in a 

 great measure confined to the fertile belts in the lower parts 

 of the valleys, becoming much scarcer or altogether absent in 

 the upland districts, exactly where the Field Yole becomes 

 most abundant. In the immediate neighbourhood of Edin- 

 burgh I find the Bank Yole the commoner of the two, and I 

 am inclined to think this has long been the case, but there is 



