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my garden, and the only thing I have against them is, that at times 

 they swarm with fleas. They never touched either chickens or 

 eggs, though they had the run of my hen house. I have seen a 

 beautiful white variety with pink eyes. 



Mole (Talpa, europaa, Linn). The well-known Moldard or 

 Moudiewarp is too common to need much description. Of late 

 years his soft, velvety skin has become a fashionable fur for ladies' 

 wear. Where they are too numerous they do harm, but in modera- 

 tion they render much service to the agriculturist by destroying 

 large quantities of injurious grubs and insects. I have frequently 

 dug out their nests, warm masses of grass and leaves, containing 

 four or five young, and I once kept one alive for some six weeks in 

 a tub half-filled with earth. They are most ravenous little creatures, 

 and it is quite astonishing what a quantity of worms they can de- 

 vour. The fortress or home of the mole is very ingeniously con- 

 structed, so that when danger threatens he can escape by one of the 

 numerous passages leading to it. I have a fine collection of varieties 

 of this little animal white, sandy, piebald, blue, etc., but I have 

 never succeeded in getting one spotted with white, though I have 

 seen one or two examples. 



Noctule, or Great Bat (Pipistrellus noctula, Schrcber). 

 This, one of the largest of our bats, is fairly common throughout the 

 country, but is somewhat local, being more numerous in some places 

 than in others. It flies high up in the air, and may at times be seen 

 hawking for flies in broad daylight. Bats are generally regarded by 

 most people with a feeling of horror, but they are most useful and 

 interesting little animals, and are well worthy of more attention 

 being paid to them than has hitherto been the case. They are 

 known in various parts of the country as " Black-beer-aways " and 

 as " Flittermice." I have seen the Noctule dip into a pond on a 

 summer's evening. 



Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus fiifiistrellus, Schreber).T:\ii* little bat 

 is the commonest species that we have, and it is often to be seen 

 abroad in the middle of the day, even during winter if the weather 

 be warm. In common with others of its kind, it often collects in 

 great numbers in belfries, caves, and similar places, where it passes 

 the hours of daylight in a more or less torpid condition 



Whiskered Bat (Myotis mystacinus> Leisler).'l\us> little bat, 

 though larger than the pipistrelle, is by no means so common as 

 that species. Where it does occur it is generally to be found in 

 small colonies, but it is decidedly local. I do not know that it is 

 really more whiskered than some of the other bats, but at any rate 

 these appendages show up well, and from them it takes its popular 

 name. In common with most of the bats, this species often swarms 

 with parasites. 



Long-eared Bat (Plecotus auritits^ Linn). This extraordinary 

 looking little creature, with ears as long as its body, is to be found 

 in many places. When at rest, asleep, or hibernating during the 

 winter months, the bats generally hang head downwards, grasping 

 some support with their sharp claws ; and in the case of this par- 

 ticular species, the long lobes of the ear are folded under the arm, 

 giving it a most curious appearance, as only the long narrow tragus 

 appears on each side. I once saw a beautiful white specimen of 

 this bat, with pink eyes, which had been taken in Hampshire. 

 Varieties of bats are very rare, and this was the only one I have 

 ever seen. 



