2344 Quadrupeds. 



about the end of December ; by the end of January they are about " half-and-half," 

 and by the beginning of March are quite white. The best method of ascertaining 

 the truth of this will be for him to examine the keeper's " racks " through the winter, 

 when I have no doubt he will find this statement correct. — /. B. Ellman; Rye, No- 

 vember 7, 1848. 



Weasels hunting in Packs. — There have been several communications (if my me- 

 mory does not fail me) in the ' Zoologist,' with regard to weasels hunting in packs ; 

 perhaps the following may be deemed worthy of a place in that periodical. John 

 Skinner, a labourer of my father's, informs me, that one day, about noon, while sitting 

 in a field of corn which he had been cutting, he observed a hare run quickly past him, 

 which was shortly after followed by nine or ten weasels ; he thinks that they were two 

 old ones and their family : they were uttering a low cry like fox-hounds. — Edward 

 Peacock ; Messingham, Kirton Lindsey, Lincolnshire, December 13, 1848. 



Are Moles injurious or beneficial to Farmers P — The subject having been again 

 noticed by Mr. Briggs (Zool. 2280), I venture to add a few observations, but chiefly 

 in reply to the paragraph at page 2009. It is undoubtedly true that in some soils 

 moles will do a vast deal of good, while in others they cause more mischief in work- 

 ing the soil than counterbalances the good they do in destroying wire-worms, &c. 

 On stiff soils (and these I believe are very prevalent in Essex) they will do a great 

 deal of good, by loosening the earth and thoroughly draining it by their subterranean 

 galleries, thereby rendering them much lighter, and consequently more productive. 

 Such I presume to be the nature of the Rev. Mr. Wilkins' land ; and if so, the more 

 the earth is worked so much the more will they improve and lighten it. But some 

 soils — for instance, the downs and highlands and some pasture-lands of Sussex — are 

 so light and loose, that the farmers are compelled to roll and press the ground over and 

 over again, with the heaviest rollers they can procure, in order to render it firm, other- 

 wise there would be no protection for the root of the young plant as soon as it is up, 

 — the stalk would grow weak, the ears would be thin, and a moderate July breeze 

 would lay the whole field. Of what use, then, would a mole be in this case ? If Mr. 

 Wilkins had taken a living among the Sussex Downs, I expect he would not have 

 been so strenuous an advocate for the encouragement of moles, as I fear he would 

 have found that u the remedy was worse than the disease." In conclusion, I say it 

 is with the question propounded at the head of this paragraph as with the greatly dis- 

 puted question of draining, " No general rule can be laid down as to what is best to 

 be done, but each farmer must use his own discretion, by considering the nature of 

 his soils, and act accordingly." — /. B. Ellman ; Rye, December 1, 1848. 



Occurrence of the Black Rat in Devonshire. — A few days since a specimen of the 

 black rat (Mus Rattus) occurred at Salcombe, a few miles from Kingsbridge, and is 

 now in my possession : in this part of Devon they appear to be almost exterminated. 

 — H. Nicholls, Jun. ; Kingsbridge, South Devon^ October 1, 1848. 



The Hamster not in Orkney. — We see a report, copied from one book to another, 

 that the hamster is naturalized in South Ronaldsha, having been brought there in a 

 Norway vessel, which suffered shipwreck. After much inquiry in that island, I came 

 to the conclusion that this is a mistake. The black rat, as well as the common rat, is 

 found there ; and the black rat is there called the blue rat, which name is well applied 

 from the colour of the animal. One man told me this blue rat was said to have conic 

 in a shipwrecked Norway vessel : hence I think the story is traced to its origin. — John 

 WoUeyt 3, Roxburgh Terrace, Edinburgh, November 16, 1848. 



