44 



NO TBS on LINCOLNSHIRE MAMMALIA. 

 Stoat's Nest in a Mole Hill.— On 4th May 1890 I had a round with 

 my old friend the mole-catcher. At that time he was trapping- in Butter- 

 wick, a hamlet of Bottesford, situated on the banks of the Trent. On this 

 occasion he dug- out four or five of the large ' mole houses ' in which were 

 young ones. All these large hills were situated on land just above the 

 flood-line, some in the open part of the field, others in the centre of 

 a hedge-row. The last to be examined rather puzzled us at first, but we 

 soon found out what was wrong. Mr. and Mrs. Stoat [Putorius ermineus) 

 had taken a lease of the premises, or perhaps they held it by right of 

 conquest. I think there can be no doubt but that they had slain the old 

 father and mother Mole (Talpa europcea), and then feasted on the young ones. 

 Finding the house to their liking they remained. If we had not disturbed 

 them they no doubt would have made it their headquarters for the spring 

 and summer. In the nest were three young stoats and a partially eaten 

 lark. In my opinion the voung were unable as yet to eat, so I suppose 

 Mr. Stoat had caught it and brought it to his wile when 'lying in.' The 

 Lark or what remained of it had been killed some days. My friend showed 

 me the place where he hung up his catches. Here I noticed four Weasels 

 {Putorius putorius) and two Stoats, one or two Water Voles [Arvicola 

 amphibius), and some Rats [Mus decumanus). All these had been taken in 

 his mole-traps during this spring. Lyon also told me that the Mole never 

 nests very far from water. He believes that they sink wells underground 

 for their own convenience ; his reason for thinking so is that they are 

 seldom seen drinking at a drain side or pond, but that they often sink 

 a deep shaft down below the water, which of course soon fills and thus 

 affords them liquid without coming out to drink. Owls, he says, kill 

 a great many, but the Stoat and Weasel are their deadly foes. — Max 

 Peacock, The Manor, Bottesford, Lincolnshire, 4th July 1900. 



Swimming by Moles, Hedgehogs, etc. — That most of our animals 



and birds can naturally swim is well known to the average field naturalist, 



but many of us have not seen several birds and beasts attempt to do so. 



I quite well remember my surprise on coming across a Mole (Talfa Europcea) 



taking a swim across the Trent from Div. 2 to Div. 1 ; the place of transit 



was from Flixborough Stather in Div. 2 to Amcotts in Div. 1. The river 



here is two hundred yards across. Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europceus) I have 



only seen once braving- the watery element. I was trapping Rats that 



came to a duck-coop placed on the fish-pond side at Bottesford Moors, 



Div. 2. One evening I heard a Rat squealing in one of my traps, so went 



down to the pond to put an end to the poor beast's suffering. What was 



my surprise when I saw a pair of old Peggy-hotchins — as we Lincolnshire 



folk call the Hedg-ehogs — swimming from the north bank of the pond to 



where my trap was placed. They were not long paddling the distance, 



some eighteen or twenty yards. When they arrived at the shore they made 



straight for the young Rat, which was caught by its off hind-leg. The old 



dog Hedgehog at once seized the Rat by the back of the neck and then 



rolled up into a ball, leaving the hind-quarters of the Rat protruding from 



the ball of pricks. Poor Rat, it had no chance ; its leg was torn from the 



trap by this fierce onslaught. Mr. Hedgehog soon unrolled and he and his 



wife made a meal off the carcass. A charge of No. 5 shot put a stop to 



their ratting excursions. I killed them only when near my young poultry, 



well knowing- that they are very industrious in slaying slugs, snails, etc. 



The Hedgehogs' skins adorned the top bar of a gate for years along with 



others of their kind. These skins are nailed on to stop lads climbing the 



gates into an orchard. It is a common practice to place them in such 



positions. Hares {Lepus europceus) I have seen swim across Bottesford 



Beck on several occasions. Rabbits {L. cuniculus) I have known swim a 



drain that was too wide to jump. They were tempted by a field of 



carrots. Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) and Partridges (Perdi.x perdix) 



will both swim well when they fall into w T ater. I have seen them do so on 



more than one occasion, when only winged. — Max Peacock, The Manor. 



Bottesford, Lincolnshire, i^th Tulv iqoo. ~ — 



. Naturalist, 



