Quadrupeds. 2289 



distance, suddenly took fright and came scampering across the greensward, when, 

 plunging into the lake opposite the mansion, they crossed to the opposite side: their 

 bodies were completely immersed, and it was a beautiful sight to see nearly a hundred 

 antler-garnished heads just above the level of the water. 



John Joseph Bkiggs. 

 King's Newton, Melbourne, Derbyshire, 

 October, 1848. 



(To be continued). 



Bats fiying by Day (Zool. 2252). — During the months of April, May and June, 

 this year, I constantly saw the common Vespertilio murinus flying about a ruin of 

 Battel Abbey, between 8 and 10 o'clock, a. m. I caught two or three with a net as 

 they swept the air, and these proved to be young ones. I had a tame jackdaw at the 

 time, and on giving him one he greedily ate it. The place where I saw the bats is 

 tenanted likewise by jackdaws ; and I venture to suggest whether the said jackdaws 

 may not have taken a fancy for their winged companions, and therefore they (the bats) 

 were hunted by the jackdaws for food ? Again, if all the bats were young ones, may 

 it not be a natural habit to them to fly by day ? — «/. B. Ellman ; Battel, October 3, 

 1848. 



Cats and Nemophila insignis. — I can fully confirm Mr. Lawson's account of the 

 destructive attention paid by cats to Nemophila insignis (Zool. 2252), having more 

 than once had several clumps of that pretty little plant completely annihilated by " the 

 feline gentry," and some of them soon after the appearance of the seedlings above 

 ground ; but whether from love or hatred, I do not pretend to say. — George Luxford ; 

 East Temple Chambers, October 4, 1848. 



Occurrence of the Oared Shrew (Sorex remifer) in Lancashire. — I captured, about 

 three months since, in a hay-field, some distance from any water, a very fine specimen 

 of the oared shrew. The head and body, when rigid, soon after death, measured 3| 

 inches ; and the day after, when flaccid (as the bodies of shrews and moles always be- 

 come), fully 4 inches in length. This is considerably more than the length given by 

 Mr. Bell, i. e. 3 inches 2 lines. I am sorry that I did not take the other dimensions 

 carefully. In the same field my little terrier caught about a dozen of the common 

 species (Sorex araneus), which, by the way, vary greatly in colour, from light grayish 

 brown to nearly black : he also caught a water-shrew (Sorex fodiens) with blackish 

 ciliae, instead of white, as in all other specimens that I have seen. I have thus spe- 

 cimens of all the three British Sorices taken in one field. The water-shrew is common 

 in ditches about here, but is not easily caught. — George Wolley ; Huyton, near Pres- 

 cot, Lancashire, September 29, 1848. 



