THE ZooLocist—Aveust, 1872. 318] 
you some details about this curious animal. Being the owner of a remark- 
ably tame one (a mature male), I am very anxious to obtain a female, which 
T should also like to be tame, my object being to settle the period of gesta- 
tion. Perhaps ‘ Cornubia’ will kindly assist me."—F’. H. Salvin ; Whitmoor 
House, Guildford, July 11, 1872. 
Anecdote of a Rat.—The following incident has been communicated to 
me by a gentleman in this neighbourhood, on whose accuracy I can fully 
rely :—‘ On the 7th of June, at about 8.30 a. M., two men were working in 
a stable-yard, when they suddenly heard a lamentable squeaking, which they 
soon found to proceed from a rat that had been caught in a wire box-trap set 
in an adjacent harness-room. On going to the spot they observed another 
rat, much larger than the unfortunate prisoner, running round the trap in 
a state of great excitement, jumping on it and trying to force its way into 
it, without taking the slightest notice of the two men, who thereupon went 
to arm themselves with sticks, and on their return found the large rat still 
engaged in the same manner as before. When the men returned to the 
harness-room with their sticks the rat ceased running round the trap, 
looked boldly at the men, and, cleverly dodging when they struck at it, 
retreated to its hole. As soon as the other rat in the trap saw itself thus 
abandoned, it again began to squeak, and directly it did so the larger rat 
again left its hole, and began running round the trap as before. This was 
repeated several times, the rat always evading the blows which were aimed 
at it, retreating for shelter to its hole, and again emerging as soon as ‘its 
imprisoned friend recommenced its lamentations. This curious scene was 
somewhat abruptly ended by the trap being taken away by the person who 
had set it, and the rat which had been caught being then killed by a dog: 
it was a male rat, not quite fully grown. The larger rat, which may probably 
have been the dam of the captive, finally effected its escape.”"—J. H. Gurney ; 
Marldon, Totnes, June 11, 1872. 
Erratum.—I am desirous of correcting a misprint in the July number of 
the ‘ Zoologist’; under the head of « Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Cuckoo,” 
p- 3146, line 13, for living membrane read lining membrane.—J. H. G. : 
July 5, 1872. 
The Common Mole.—I am most happy to respond to your editorial 
appeal to me (Zool. S. S. 8148) for information respecting the utility of the 
mole. Of all our indigenous mammals it ought certainly to be classed as 
“A1” for usefulness; in fact, only its cousins, the shrews, can claim 
an approaching commendation from all who own a plot of land—farmers 
especially. It is known to all naturalists—and I wish it were to all 
farmers—that the most injurious of under-ground insects are the larvz of 
certain Diptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, and on these, with pupx and 
larvee of others of the same tribes of insects which descend into the ground 
to undergo their transformations, does the mole exclusively feed. Mr. 
SECOND SERIES—VOL. VII. 2R 
