The Mammals of the Edinhurgh or Forth Area. 397 



Squikkel {Scmrics vulgaris, L.). 



Bell and MacGillivray, in their respective " Histories " of 

 British Quadrupeds, state that the young of this species are 

 born " in June " or " about midsummer," and Lydekker and 

 Johnston simply repeat the statement, as has also been done 

 by J. L. Bonhote in the Zoologist for 1901. In point of 

 fact, however, the Squirrel is quite as early a breeder as any 

 of our other quadrupeds, and the usual time for the birth of 

 the young is in spring, from March to May, the majority 

 being produced in April. At the time of writing my former 

 paper (1891) I held this opinion, and mentioned three 

 instances within my knowledge of young in April in the 

 south of Scotland. Messrs Blagg and Harting, in the Zoologist 

 for 1891 (p. 101), gave several instances of young having 

 been found in the nest in March and April in England, and 

 in the same magazine for 1892 (p. 403) I repeated my ex- 

 perience. Since then I have obtained further evidence, all 

 going to prove that the usual time for production of the 

 young in Scotland, as in England, is that stated above, 

 namely, in spring, and not about midsummer, as given in the 

 works above mentioned.^ Litters as late as July or even 

 August, however, occasionally occur. The further records 

 referred to are as follows : — 



In the Naturalist for June 1854, Mr J. J. Dalgleish 

 recorded finding a Squirrel's nest with two young ones 

 in it on 20th March of that year, at West Grange, near 

 Alloa. 



Mr H. Eaeburn tells me that on or about 30th 

 March 1879 he found a nest containing young near 

 St Andrews. 



On 6th April 1893, a " half-grown " Squirrel was caught 

 on the ground in Dalmeny Park by Mr C. Campbell. 



^ Since this paper was written, Vol. 11. of Millais's Mammals of Great 

 Britain and Ireland has been issued. It contains his article on the Squirrel, 

 and gives as the ordinary date for birth of the young, 10th March to 

 20th April. 



