Sucklers. 9645 



species on the broad at Ranworlh, a few years since, its weight being 

 twenty-eight pounds. The following instances of the occurrence of 

 the otter in this county I have noticed this season : — 



December 1, 1864. A male on Fritlon Broad, near Great Yarmouth. 



December 17. A second male, at East Ruston, weighing eighteen 

 pounds and a half, and measuring four feet two inches in length, tail 

 included. 



December 23. A male, killed on the River Waveney, near Bungay ; 

 weight upwards of twenty pounds. 



February, 1865. During the latter part of this month two females 

 were taken in the vicinity of Burgh St. Peter's, near Yarmouth. 

 Mr. J. Knight, birdstuffer, had also brought him, about the same time, 

 two very yoiuig ones, apparently not more than five or six. days old. 



Mole. — The creamcoloured variety of this species is not unusual in 

 Norfolk ; a few examples are taken each season ; four individuals were 

 obtained in the vicinity of Stalham Hall, on the 28th of February, 1863. 

 In examining a bundle of mole-skins from one of the catchers' hands, 

 who had obtained them at Bixley, near Norwich, during the middle of 

 last February, I observed one individual with the entire surface of its 

 coat of a uniform light umber-brown. 



Brown Rat. — During the winter seasons of 1858 and 1859 three or 

 four pale buff-coloured varieties of this abundant and destructive 

 species were killed by a gamekeeper named Butler, on the Blickling 

 estate near Aylsham ; they were preserved, and two of them 1 have 

 lately seen in the possession of an acquaintance of mine. The pie- 

 bald variety is not unusual in this county ; I have at various times met 

 with several examples more or less marked with patches of white. 

 A nicely marked individual of this variety was caught alive in the 

 vicinity of Earlham, a village two miles distant from Norwich, two or 

 three years since, and, from its being confined some little time, had 

 become pretty tame and domesticated ; by an accident, however, it 

 met with an untimely end. A splendid white specimen was obtained 

 in the neighbourhood of Baiford in 1861. A most curious and some- 

 what extraordinary individual of this species was killed by a rat- 

 catcher named Sayer, in the winter of 1861-62, on Mr. Tuck's estate 

 at Strumpshaw, which is distant about eight miles north-east from 

 Norwich : from the outward appearance of the skin of the animal 

 many observers were of opinion that it was undoubtedly labouring 

 under some peculiar disease: it appeared wholly destitute of its hairy 

 covering, with the exception of its whiskers and a i'ew hairs thinly 

 scattered over the surface of its face; its skin was covered with small 



