442 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



On different days during May of that year another pair of 

 cubs was brought me from the same wood, born probably much 

 about the same time as the previous pair, and therefore then 

 somewhere about three months old. These I also took to. The 

 young female died from injury received in trapping, but the 

 young male, sharing a cage with the old female, gradually grew 

 into a fine animal. 



Early on the morning of March 21st, 1903, young were born, 

 oddly enough only a day after I had (unsuspectingly) moved the 

 pair into more roomy quarters. Either therefore pairing had 

 taken place before the female was captured on March 2nd, 1902 

 — at latest when her young of that year were only about three 

 weeks old, which means a gestation of at least three weeks over 

 a twelvemonth — or else the male born in 1902 arrived at puberty 

 soon enough to become the father of a family by the time he was 

 a year (and possibly a week or two extra) old. Bearing Mr. 

 Meade-Waldo's experience in mind, and ignoring all previous 

 records, I was inclined to the latter alternative. 



In the latter part of April I paid a visit to Mr. G. W. Duff- 

 Assheton-Sinith, at Vaynol Park, Carnarvonshire, and, on com- 

 paring notes concerning our respective " menageries," he told 

 me that he had likewise bred a litter of Badgers early in March 

 this year. He had been very careful not to disturb them, but 

 on one occasion three young were seen. The old female had 

 been captured " about twelve months " (though he had un- 

 fortunately no note of exact date), and the only companion she 

 had since had during any part of the time was another female. 

 Though it would be more satisfactory if we had, chapter and 

 verse, the precise date of her capture, and of the birth of the 

 cubs, yet it makes no difference as to the main fact, for of course 

 " about twelve months" cannot be explained away into anything 

 corresponding to the four and a half months (approximate) of 

 Mr. Meade-Waldo's experience. 



On April 25th we had a thorough investigation, and found 

 only one cub, the other two having mysteriously disappeared. 

 On my return home late on the 27th, my animal-keeper reported 

 that something had that day (or during the previous night) gone 

 wrong with my Badger family ; that he had found one of the 

 cubs very cold and weak, which he had fed with milk and replaced, 



