OF SELBORNE. 55 



them in the greatest plenty. As I was going some 

 years ago, pretty late, in a boat from Richmond to 

 Sunbury, on a warm summer's evening, I think I saw 

 myriads of bats between the two places: the air swarmed 

 with them all along the Thames, so that hundreds were 

 in sight at a time. I am, &c. 



LETTER XII. 



TO THE SAME. 

 SIR, November 4, 1767. 



IT gave me no small satisfaction to hear that the Falco 1 

 turned out an uncommon one. I must confess I should 



cleaning herself, using the claws of the posterior extremities as a comb, 

 parting with them the hair on either side from the head to the tail, and 

 forming a straight line down the middle of the back : the membrane of 

 the wings was cleaned by forcing the nose through the folds, and thereby 

 expanding them. 



" On the 23rd of June a young one was born, exceeding in size a 

 newly born mouse ; and having, from its birth, considerable power in its 

 hind legs and claws, by the aid of which it clung strongly to its dam or 

 to the deal sides of the cage. It was nestled so closely within the folds of 

 the membranes as to prevent any observation of the process of suckling. 

 The dam was exceedingly careful of it on the next day also, and was 

 observed to shift it from side to side to suckle it, keeping it still folded 

 in the membranes of the wings : on these occasions her usual position 

 was reversed. In the evening she was found to be dead ; but the young 

 one was still alive. It took milk from a sponge, and was kept carefully 

 wrapped up in flannel ; and by these attentions was preserved for eight 

 days, at the end of which period it died. Its eyes were not then opened, 

 and it had acquired very little hair." G. D. 



With the preceding notes Mr. Daniell also communicated to the Zoolo- 

 gical Society some other particulars respecting the female noctule, 

 which were published in the Proceedings of that body for 1834. These 

 are less adapted to the general, than to the scientific, reader. 



It would seem probable, from the account given in the text of its 

 manner of feeding, that the tame bat observed by our author was the 

 pipistrelle : a bat which he and British zoologists generally, until very 

 recently, confounded with Vespertllio murinus; one of the most common, 

 with one of the rarest of the English species. E. T. B. 



1 This hawk proved to be the Falco peregrinus ; a variety. 



[" It was a variety that differed from our falcon in having the whole 



