72 



RODENTIA 



the Braid hills, by the roadside between Fairmilehead and 

 Kaimes, at Dreghorn, at Lothianburn, and on the south side 

 of the Pentlands, both by the roadside beyond Hillend and in 

 the young plantation on the hill-side at Boghall. I have also 

 obtained it at Gosford, in East Lothian. A bank on the 

 sunny side of a wall is a favourite habitat, especially if well 

 clothed with tussocks of cock's-foot grass {Dadylis glomerata). 

 They may be seen sitting near the entrances to their burrows 

 at all hours of the day, but the afternoon seems to be the time 

 of their greatest activity. On a winter's day, if the sun has 

 been bright, I can always depend on seeing numbers towards 

 sunset feeding by the roadside which skirts the southern 

 confines of Mortonhall grounds. As the spring advances 

 they may be observed climbing the briars, thorns, and 

 sapling elms, and nipping off the expanding leaf-buds. 



The following are a few measurements taken from examples 

 captured in January and March : — 



While these pages were passing through the press (March 

 1892) I sent to the British Museum a few small Mammals, 

 including a couple of critical specimens of the Bank Vole 

 and a Lesser Shrew. Eegarding the former, Mr Oldfield 

 Thomas writes me as follows : — " They are very interesting 

 specimens, and I was quite doubtful as to whether they 

 were Agrestis or Glareohis, as they are so much less rufous 

 in tint than the latter usually is. The teeth, however, show 

 that they certainly are Glareolus. . . . Their tails are 

 also a little shorter than usual." These peculiarities are 

 characteristic, more or less, of a large proportion of the 

 examples I have examined. 



