NOTES AND QUERIES. 65 



stones and soil. By the time the dog has removed this obstacle, if it has 

 the perseverance to do so, the Badger has made its way into another burrow 

 and escaped. — F. Hayward Parrott (Walton House, Aylesbury). 



Antiquity of the name "Lobster" for the Stoat. — In Gairdner's 

 edition of the ' Paston Letters' (vol. iii. p. 365), there is a letter from Sir 

 John Paston, written about 1490, asking for " vj corspyll blake conyes or 

 rennying rabbettys or some blake and some whyght .... to store with a 

 nevve grownd .... at Oxenhed" (Norfolk), and referring to the practice 

 of warreners in hanging up " mysdoers and fori'aytours, as wesellis, lobsters, 

 polkattys, bosartys and mayne currys." The above may be of interest as 

 giving an earlier date for the term " Lobster" than that quoted at p. 20 of 

 the last number of ' The Zoologist.' — J. H. Gurney (Northrepps Hall, 

 Norwich). 



Squirrel eating Small Birds. — A friend of mine near Oxford captured 

 a wild Squirrel, and having an aviary containing Canaries, turned his 

 newly-found pet in with them. All went well for some days, and he fed 

 the Squirrel with such food as it delights in. However, on coming down 

 one morning, imagine his horror at finding two of his Canaries gone, and 

 only feathers left strewed about. Keepers have ofteu told me of Squirrels 

 sucking Pheasants' and Partridges' eggs, and of their catching them in traps 

 set for Jays, baited with eggs of small birds, but I have discredited their 

 stories, though I now admit the probability of such acts on their part. 

 Is it an uncommon thing ? Perhaps some of your readers may have 

 something to say on this, to me, new food for the Squirrel. — G. T. Phillips 

 (Wokingham, Berkshire). [See a note by Capt. Saville Reid, Zool 1885, 

 pp. 229.— Ed.] 



Bank Vole in Leicestershire. — In my "Notes on the Vertebrate 

 Animals of Leicestershire" (Zool. 1885, p. 219), I wrote: — "I have not 

 yet met with this species in Leicestershire, but it doubtless occurs, as 

 Mr. Ingram, writing on February 7th, ]885, and enumerating the mice 

 and voles, says, ' and another, also short-tailed, but of a light fox-coloured 

 skin." Since then, this little animal has, as I imagined it would, turned up 

 quite commonly at Belvoir, from whence, through the kindness of Mr. John 

 llyder, I received several specimens — i.e., out of nine Field Voles sent to 

 me on 2nd and 3rd July, 1885, four were of the rarer species, which, with 

 others, were exhibited on the 6th at a meeting of the Zoological Section " E " 

 of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society, and upon which I made 

 the following remarks, afterwards published at p. 27 of the ' Transactions 

 of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society,' October, 1886: — 

 " I should not imagine this species to be very rare, but to be merely 

 confounded with A. agreslis. Colour I found to be of little aid in dis- 

 criminating one from the other, especially when not fully adult, and I do 



