NOtES AND QUERIES. 10l 



the theory that Squirrels become torpid during the winter-time appears 

 to be very meagre. In Bell's 'British Quadrupeds' (2nd edit. p. 277) 

 it is stated that the Squirrel "remains during the greater part of the 

 winter in a state of almost complete torpidity, coming abroad, however, 

 on the occurrence of a fine day." My own experience is that the 

 Squirrel does not by any means restrict his winter wanderings to fine days. 

 I have frequently seen Squirrels abroad in the middle of the winter, when 

 there has been deep snow on the ground and a keen frost in the air. I 

 remember once seeing a Squirrel abroad during a severe storm of sleet and 

 rain in winter-time, and he appeared to be not at all inconvenienced by 

 the rough weather. I may mention that I saw a Squirrel abroad on 

 Dec. 17th, 1890 : and it will be remembered what a cold speJl of weather 

 we were having at that time. At p. 278 Bell says, " The female brings 

 forth three or four young in the month of June." T would refer your 

 readers to ' The Field ' for March 6th, 1886, where a correspondent records 

 finding young Squirrels, " nearly as large as a rat," in the second week of 

 February, " in a peculiarly inclement and backward season." We may 

 assume those Squirrels were born some time in January. In this neigh- 

 bourhood I have three times come across nests of young Squirrels, on each 

 occasion at the beginning of April ; they appeared to be several weeks old, 

 and must have been born at least as early in the year as the month of 

 March. It appears to me very strange that an animal that " remains 

 during the greater part of the winter in a state of almost complete tor- 

 pidity" should produce young in January, February, or March. The 

 position of the new-born young when their mother hybernates must be a 

 very unenviable one ! Perhaps somebody will tell us that the difficulty is 

 got over by the young ones hybernatmg too ! My own idea is that the 

 Squirrel probably does sleep a good deal more in winter-time than in 

 summer, as do many other wild animals, but that he has to be continually 

 waking up and taking nourishment : thus it is that we find him abroad 

 during severe weather, as well as " on a fine day." Compared with the 

 lethargic condition in which Bats and Dormice, for instance, spend the 

 winter, this can hardly be called an " almost complete state of torpidity." 

 It would be interesting to learn the evidence of somebody who has actually 

 found a Squirrel in a torpid state. — E. W. H. Blagg (Cheadle, Staffordshire). 

 [Our own experience is opposed to the testimony of Bell, both as 

 regards the alleged torpidity in winter and the time of producing the 

 young. When covert-shooting during the winter months we have repeat- 

 edly seen Squirrels abroad and active, sometimes searching on the ground 

 for food, at others passing from tree to tree at a great pace in front of the 

 beaters. As regards the question of reproduction, we have notes of finding 

 newly-born Squirrels on the 21st March (three young), 9th April (three 

 young), 26th April (four young), and 29th April (two young). Those 



