9220 Sucklers. 
must have gone the greatest part of her time in young. These badgers 
had deserted a very large and strong earth, although it had not been 
disturbed, and had taken up their quarters about half a mile off, in 
what seemed to be merely an enlarged rabbit-hole. I have often heard 
of the great age a badger lives to; is there any good evidence of this? 
—S. LE. S.; Christ Church, Oxford. 
‘(Our correspondent’s expression, “ distinctly developed,” is far from 
clear, and might apply to the condition of the fetus at a very early 
period. All that his statement goes to prove is that in this instance 
the badger would have brought forth young after the month of June, 
and more than two months after being rigidly confined. There are two 
questions in dispute: first, what is the period of gestation in the bad- 
ger, to which this case does not apply ; and, secondly, what is the usual 
month of their bringing forth young, which it settles, as far as one case 
can, that it is not February, unless gestation lasts more than twelve 
months.—Ed. of ‘Field. | 
Period of Gestation of the Badger.—\ have observed your editorial 
remarks on this subject in your impression of June 25th, and your 
reference to my note of May 11, 1861. 1 certainly expressed myself 
loosely. I ought to have said “the general opinion here” is that the 
badger does not go with young longer than ten weeks, for I cannot 
prove, from personal observation, at exactly what season the male and 
female come together; but the idea of all the foresters round about 
where the badger is common is that the pairing takes place just before 
they lay up for the winter, and I have myself seen young ones (very 
small, but they might, however, have been three weeks old) dug out 
early in March. As to the two instances of the badger bringing forth 
in confinement, when she has been totally excluded from the male for 
a period of thirteen months, mentioned in your paper, I can offer no 
opinion. We must either come to the conclusion that the badger goes 
longer with young than, I believe, any other known animal, or that they 
are able to bring forth without an actual connection with the male,— 
which idea xo one, of course, can entertain for a moment,—or that there 
is some mistake in the matter, which is hardly likely either. Surely 
one or other of those gentlemen who had the female badger in con- 
finement, must have remarked how long the female had been in con- 
finement before she began to show symptoms of being heavy, and this 
might lead us to some conclusion. But it is still my opinion that, like 
its nearest generic congener, the bear, the Swedish badger brings forth 
