﻿110 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  " 
  Your 
  experience 
  of 
  April 
  27th, 
  when 
  your 
  keeper 
  reported 
  

   something 
  wrong, 
  was 
  also 
  mine 
  on 
  two 
  occasions 
  with 
  my 
  first 
  

   lot, 
  though 
  not 
  quite 
  so 
  fatal. 
  We 
  all 
  know 
  how 
  easily 
  a 
  Fox 
  is 
  

   made 
  to 
  remove 
  her 
  young 
  to 
  other 
  quarters 
  when 
  disturbed. 
  A 
  

   kindred 
  feeling, 
  I 
  believe, 
  pervades 
  the 
  Badger, 
  and, 
  finding 
  this 
  

   impossible 
  when 
  in 
  confinement, 
  gives 
  rise 
  to 
  the 
  excitement 
  

   which 
  only 
  those 
  who 
  have 
  kept 
  them 
  can 
  understand 
  ; 
  hence 
  

   the 
  disaster. 
  

  

  " 
  My 
  kennel 
  at 
  present 
  consists 
  of 
  four 
  — 
  one 
  male 
  and 
  three 
  

   females 
  — 
  the 
  surviving 
  produce 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  three 
  litters. 
  They 
  

   are 
  now 
  kept 
  more 
  as 
  pets 
  than 
  for 
  purposes 
  of 
  observation." 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Paterson's 
  suggested 
  reason 
  for 
  the 
  fatality 
  to 
  my 
  cubs 
  

   (as 
  mentioned, 
  Zool. 
  1903, 
  p. 
  443) 
  is 
  a 
  very 
  likely 
  one, 
  though 
  I 
  

   am 
  still 
  inclined 
  to 
  think 
  my 
  own 
  explanation 
  the 
  right 
  one. 
  In 
  

   breeding 
  other 
  wild 
  animals 
  (Wild 
  Cats, 
  Martens, 
  Otters, 
  Pole- 
  

   cats, 
  &c), 
  I 
  have 
  always 
  been 
  careful 
  to 
  provide 
  an 
  alternative 
  

   bed-box, 
  of 
  which 
  I 
  know 
  well 
  the 
  necessity, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  certainly 
  

   a 
  careless 
  omission 
  not 
  to 
  have 
  done 
  so 
  in 
  this 
  instance. 
  I 
  can- 
  

   not, 
  however, 
  agree 
  with 
  Mr. 
  Paterson 
  in 
  his 
  belief 
  that 
  young 
  

   Badgers 
  do 
  not 
  suckle 
  for 
  some 
  time 
  after 
  birth, 
  though 
  the 
  

   result, 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  remembered, 
  of 
  considerable 
  experience.* 
  

  

  An 
  analysis 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Paterson's 
  experiences 
  (calling 
  his 
  original 
  

   female 
  No. 
  1, 
  and 
  the 
  young 
  female 
  born 
  from 
  No. 
  1 
  in 
  1898, 
  

   No. 
  2) 
  shows 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  1897. 
  — 
  Jan. 
  15th, 
  No. 
  1 
  caught 
  ; 
  Feb. 
  27th, 
  she 
  produced 
  three 
  

   cubs 
  (only 
  one, 
  the 
  female 
  No. 
  2, 
  reared). 
  Nov. 
  25th, 
  male 
  caught. 
  

  

  1898. 
  — 
  Pairing 
  observed 
  July 
  10th, 
  and 
  especially 
  " 
  two 
  

   nights 
  later 
  " 
  = 
  ? 
  July 
  12th. 
  

  

  1899. 
  — 
  Feb. 
  13th, 
  No. 
  1 
  had 
  one 
  cub, 
  dead, 
  and 
  supposed 
  to 
  

   be 
  premature 
  by 
  three 
  weeks 
  or 
  a 
  month 
  ; 
  or 
  conjectured 
  natural 
  

   date 
  for 
  birth 
  between 
  about 
  March 
  5th 
  and 
  12th. 
  Attempts 
  at 
  

   pairing 
  observed 
  in 
  July. 
  

  

  1900.— 
  Feb. 
  27th, 
  No. 
  2 
  had 
  two 
  cubs 
  ; 
  March 
  8th, 
  No. 
  1 
  had 
  

   two 
  cubs. 
  Attempts 
  at 
  pairing 
  with 
  No. 
  2 
  seen 
  in 
  July. 
  

  

  1901.— 
  Feb. 
  21st, 
  No. 
  2 
  had 
  two 
  cubs. 
  

  

  * 
  Gallinaceous 
  birds, 
  or 
  some 
  species 
  of 
  them, 
  eat 
  nothing 
  for 
  four-and- 
  

   twenty 
  hours 
  after 
  leaving 
  the 
  egg, 
  but 
  with 
  young 
  mammals, 
  on 
  the 
  contrary, 
  

   their 
  very 
  first 
  action 
  — 
  I 
  should 
  have 
  said 
  invariably 
  — 
  is 
  to 
  find 
  out 
  how 
  to 
  

   obtain 
  a 
  meal. 
  Whether, 
  however, 
  the 
  non-requirement 
  of 
  nourishment 
  be 
  

   real 
  or 
  only 
  apparent, 
  the 
  note 
  tends 
  to 
  show 
  the 
  somewhat 
  embryonic 
  con- 
  

   dition 
  of 
  the 
  cubs. 
  

  

  