S-i ON THE MIGRATION AND HABITS OF THE NOEWEQIAN LEMMING. 



tieiis). I presume Mr. Andrew Murray* had beeu misled by 

 insiifficieut descriptiou to suppose that this was a lemming 

 from the Americau continent, from which he would have derived 

 the comparatively recent connexion of Iceland and America. 

 Indeed Steeustrup has shown that this theory, so far as it was sup- 

 ported by the identity of species, was quite untenable. In the ab- 

 sence of living specimens, I turned to fossil remains ; but the so- 

 called lemming of Brixham cave is stated to be Lagomys spelcBus, 

 which is more nearly allied to the hares. However, Professor 

 Owen found a Georychus, which probably is the Siberian lemming, 

 in company with remains of Elepha^ primigenius in lacustrine 

 brick-earth near Salisbury. I am therefore inclined to assume 

 that in former days the lemming had a climatal motive for its 

 migrations ; and it may even be supposed that some, at least, re- 

 turned to their northern home ; otherwise it seems hard to account 

 for the persistency with which they cling to a suicidal routine. 



One more point occurs to me before I conclude ; and that is that 

 I have been quite unable, although living very high up in the 

 fjeld, to obtain any lemmings during the intervals of migi-ation ; 

 nor can I throw any satisfactory light on their home, if it can be 

 called by that name. Prof Lilljeborg states t (as most Norwegians 

 believe, but few or none have verified) that the lemming has its 

 head quarters on the higher fjelds. 



Pinally, I feel that, whilst thus claiming this birthright of in- 

 herited tendencies for the lemming, I may be asked, "Why, then, 

 has the singular fact of the raw and denuded back produced no 

 inherited modification in the present race, since it is presumable 

 that their enemies are not creations of yesterday ?" "Well, that I 

 cannot answer ; and one of my chief reasons for publishing this 

 paper has been the hope that some one may be able to throw more 

 light on the subject. 



* Geograph. Distrib. of Mam. (1866) p. 26. 



t Sveriges och Norges Ryggradsdjur, (IST-i) p. 374. 



