$6 TALPIDiE— TALPA 



tional cases, probably of young animals, breeding later, which 

 might account for Mr F. G. Aflalo's " young in August." 



The female constructs a quite separate^ fortress and nest 

 in which to bring forth her young. This is usually, but 

 not always, of simpler construction than the fortress of the male, 

 and seldom possesses a bolt-run. Mr Adams, however, has 

 sent me a description of one — so far unique in his experience — 

 in which there were two bolt-runs. He has also figured 

 a breeding-fortress in which there were two inhabited nests, 

 each with a bolt-run. Although de Vaux says without 

 hesitation that moles live in pairs in the habitation of the 

 male until the female leaves her spouse to prepare her nursery, 

 Mr Adams is by no means convinced that this is the case. He 

 has "never been able to trap a female in or close to a male's 

 fortress, and if we are to judge from the analogy of the rabbit 

 (which makes a separate nursery, presumably to protect her 

 young from the voracious father or fathers), we may suppose 

 the Mole to be polyandrous," 



"As far as my information goes," writes Mr Adams, "no 

 mammal prepares a nursery till well advanced in pregnancy; 

 if this holds good with regard to the Mole, six weeks is nearer 

 the actual period of gestation than one month, as some 

 fortresses from which I have taken the young have been 

 made about one month previously." ^ 



The average number of young in a litter, according to Mr 

 Adams's experience, works out at rather more than 3|-.* To 

 find two is very rare, and he has only in a single instance 

 met with a solitary young one. The greatest number is six, 

 which is also very occasional. He has heard of seven. The 

 following table gives his personal records : — 



Number of litters containing one . i Number of litters containing four . 31 

 » i> .. two .4 „ „ „ five . 4 



.1 I. » three 20 „ „ „ six . I 



' See Mrs Rose Haig Thomas, Field, 3rd October 1903, 600. 



2 Adams has since sent me a note of a nursery made only four days before it was 

 occupied by young. 



' Twenty-one pregnant Scottish females gave Evans an average of 3-86 

 embryos, and Cocks found an average of (exactly) 4 embryos in nine females, or, 

 including the seven young in two litters mentioned on the previous page, an 

 average of 3'9. 



