30& THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Swimming Cats. — The domestic cat is proverbially averse to a wetting, 

 and although some members of the family take to the water readily enough, 

 I have always believed with Gilbert White that " pussy of all quadrupeds 

 is the least disposed towards water." Hearing therefore that two young 

 cats at the Swan Baths on the Norwich river were accomplished swimmers, 

 I called upon Mr. Ransome, their owner, who very kindly exhibited the 

 natatory powers of one of them for my benefit. The younger of the two, 

 only two months old, having already crossed the river twice, he hesitated to 

 put it through its performance again, for fear of tiriug it. I therefore had 

 not the pleasure of seeing the two swim side by side ; but its fellow, a month 

 older, he took across the river in a boat, and returning to where I stood 

 called it to his side, when puss, apparently without the slightest fear, and 

 without hesitation, took to the water and swam with head well up, very 

 lightly and rapidly across the river, which is certaiuly quite twenty yards 

 wide, crossing straight over, notwithstanding a strong current which was 

 running. It left the water by the bathing steps without assistance, and 

 apparently uot at all fatigued, although it had then crossed for the third 

 time that day. Its chief care on landing seemed to be to dry its feet. 

 Mr. Ransome is the teacher of swimming at the Baths, and he has certainly 

 been most successful with his little pupil, which he told me he trained 

 gradually and purely by persuasion. I hear that since I saw this curious 

 feat, some thoughtless person threw one of the kittens into the water, after 

 which it was shy for a time, but since then, by kindly persuasion, it has 

 quite regained its former confidence. — Thos. Southwell (Norwich). 



Variation in the Colour of Field Voles. — In reply to Mr. Service's 

 enquiry on this subject, I may say that on July 19th I saw, alive, at 

 Mr. Bristow's, taxidermist, of St. Leonards-on-Sea, a pure white variety of 

 the Short-tailed Vole, with black eyes. It was brought to him on July 13th, 

 by a boy who caught it at Hollington, about two miles from here. It is 

 a full-grown specimen, and is still in Mr. Bristow's possession. — George 

 W. Bradshaw (The Memorial Studio, Hastiugs). 



Water Shrew in S.W. Lancashire. — In April last I was fortunate in 

 being able to watch for a short time the habits of this rather seclusive 

 species. It was industriously diving repeatedly from the surface in the 

 middle of a stream pool, and apparently feediug on insects. On my 

 approach the Shrew immediately made up-stream, cleverly wriggling with 

 distended body under water, and making the most of such covert as was 

 afforded by submerged weeds. With the assistance of my brother, we 

 chased it under a btone, and eventually captured a nice variety of 

 Crossopus fodiens. Description : — Sex, male. Body stout; general line of 

 the upper parts greyish black ; lower parts whitish grey ; chin, throat, and 

 belly whitish grey, becoming slightly yellow at the abdomeu. Eyes blue, 



