Field Notes. yy 



MAMMALS. 



Late Breeding of Hedgehog in Holderness. — I found a 

 female Hedgehog with five young, each about the size of a 

 tennis ball, in a long plantation near Halsham on November 

 13th, 1920. — C. F. Proctor. 



Hedgehog in a Strange Locality. — A sister-in-law of 

 mine who lives in the South of London writes that late in 

 November she was surprised to see a Hedgehog walking up 

 the garden path, attended by a big yellow cat, which did not 

 seem to know what to make of the strange visitor. The cat 

 tried to pat the Hedgehog, who promptly rolled himself up ; 

 after a time the cat left it and went into a neighbouring 

 garden, returning with a special ' pal,' and eventually being re- 

 inforced by nine or ten more cats, which formed a ring round 

 the hedgehog, first one and then another venturing a pat. 

 Being unable to make any impression upon the armour, they 

 one by one departed, leaving only one cat in attendance. 

 The Hedgehog finally burrowed under a heap of rubbish, 

 and this cat was last seen watching the hole where ' piggy 

 had disappeared. A van full of furniture had arrived at a 

 neighbouring house the day before from the New Forest 

 neighbourhood, and it is quite possible the visitor had reached 

 London in it. — R. Fortune. 



Habits of Water Vole in Suffolk. — Last summer I found 

 it necessary to spend several months in the county of Suffolk. 

 The part of the county where I was is watered by the river 

 Stour, a typical English stream, slow and sluggish, with thick 

 beds of rushes and reeds on each side. Considerable numbers of 

 Voles, or Water Rats as they are commonly called, lived in 

 the banks of the river. I often spent the summer evenings 

 by the side of the stream, and I took great pleasure in observing 

 the habits of these interesting little animals. They frequently 

 sat on bunches of reeds floating on the surface of the river, 

 feeding on the stalks, which seemed to be their only food. 

 On the slightest alarm they dived through the reeds and dis- 

 appeared. They did not slide away, as most animals do 

 when diving, but plunged in head first, quite perpendicularly. 

 I never could see one under the water, which was generally 

 discoloured, with rushes or reeds floating on the top. On 

 many occasions, however, I saw them swimming on the 

 surface of the water while crossing from one side to the other, 

 or when looking for food. While so doing, I observed that they 

 only used their hind legs as a means of propulsion, moving 

 them alternately as in walking, their forelegs being pressed 

 down to their sides, their bodies were very high out of the 

 water, almost wholly exposed. I have consulted several 

 Natural History books to see if this peculiarity in the swimming 



■102I Feb. 1 



