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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLVIII 



1 black-and-white Japanese, and 4 agoutis. 3 The fawns and fawn-and- 

 whites resulting from these crosses were much deeper in color than the 

 wild grandsire. Mated one with another they gave a proportion of 

 about 2 fawn colored or fawn-and-white in 7 young. 4 I may say in 

 conclusion that the original wild rat was in shape of body, skull, etc., 

 as the ordinary brown or agouti rat that we have running wild in 

 this district. 



Mr. Marriott sold a "fawn-and-white" (pink-eyed 

 hooded agouti) buck to Mr. E. F. Tilling, of Hessenford, 

 who also "originated" the second variation, the "black- 

 eyed yellow," or true yellow variation. His results from 

 the pink-eyed variation confirm those of Mr. Marriott. 



Mr. Tilling writes under date of October 18, 1913 : 



I see by Fur and Feather this week that you are interested in the 

 yellow and cream varieties of rats. I am also much interested in these 

 and have produced the latter variety within the last few months. We 

 have 2 kinds over here, the yellow-and white hooded with pink eyes and 

 the self yellow (and cream) with black eyes. Both are quite distinct. 

 The first mentioned was produced some 2 or 3 years ago. Mr. Marriott, 

 of Chesterfield, bred the first I heard of from a wild caught fawn. He 

 bred a couple of yellow and while hooded bucks of which Miss Douglas 



