306 Zoological Society. 



He perceived much slime, like white of egg, passing from the va- 

 gina. This was about 3 p.m., when lie was unfortunately called 

 away on some business. In the evening, at 8 o'clock, suspecting 

 that parturition had taken place, he examined her pouch, and found 

 a young one attached to a teat : on being touched the young one 

 dropped oft' to the bottom of the pouch. Next day he again examined 

 her, and found the young one adhering to the nipple. It fell off a se- 

 cond time on being handled, and both Joseph and Devereux Fuller 

 had the little one in their hands out of the pouch, and both assert 

 that it was not more than 1 inch in length. It was again put into the 

 pouch, and the mother was meddled with no more till the 3rd of 

 November following, On that day Mr. Yarrell and myself visited 

 the Farm, and on hearing this account we examined the female, 

 and found the young one, now 3 inches long, adhering strongly to 

 the nipple. On further questioning Fuller on the subject, he said, 

 that when first he saw the young one it was covered with blood-clot 

 or coagulum; but on the following day it was quite clean and dry, 

 and moved its body vigorous!)". The mother still suckles one of the 

 previous year. 



" From Mr. Morgan's experiments it would appear that when the 

 mammary foetus has arrived at nearly the size of a fully grown Nor- 

 ivay Rat, it will bear a separation from the nipple for two hours, 

 and regain its hold. According to Fuller's statement it will bear a 

 separation from the nipple, and again become joined to it, at what is 

 now proved to have been a very short period after uterine gestation ; 

 and Mr. Collie's observations, in the 18th Number of the ' Zoological 

 Journal', are in confirmation of the same opinion. It is still uncer- 

 tain in what manner it regained the nipple, although in a subsequent 

 experiment, where a similar foetus was detached, the mother made 

 many, but, as it appeared, unsuccessful, attempts to replace it. 



"In order to ascertain precisely the period of gestation, as an es- 

 sential guide to future experiments, the female No. 1. was selected, 

 she being still suckling the young one of the previous year, and 

 being known not to be impregnated. She was placed with the male 

 only at such times as they could be watched. 



" The coitus was observed on the 27th of August at 1 p.m. She 

 was separated from the male the same day, and was kept in a di- 

 stinct shed and paddock until parturition took place. In order to 

 inure her to the examinations of the pouch when they should be- 

 come indispensable, they were commenced six days after the copu- 

 lation, and were repeated every morning and evening by James 

 Hunt, the intelligent Keeper whose services were allotted to me by 

 the Council during these investigations. At many of these exami- 

 nations I was present, and the following are among my notes made 

 on those occasions. 



" Sept. 6th. — 10th day of gestation. Pouch tolerably free from 

 secretion j the right upper nipple about c 2 inches long and ;rd 

 of an inch in diameter; the young one, which has left the pouch, 

 still sucking occasionally ; the other nipples as when first ex- 

 amined. 



