70 
NATURE NOTES 
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES AND QUERIES. 
The Wild Goat. — Ought the wild goat to be counted among indigenous 
British animals? The question has often occurred to me, when I have seen wild 
goats, or at any rate goats in a state of complete freedom, on some of the more 
rocky and unfrequented mountains of North Wales ; hut I have never been able 
to obtain any information from books as to the origin of these animals — whether 
they represent an indigenous stock, or are descended from escaped goats of the 
domestic kind. In a recent numher of Coiinl 7 y Life (March 2, 1901), there 
appeared a very interesting article on “ Wild Goats in Wales,” in which it is stated 
that there are several Welsh herds of genuine wild goats, one, for example, in 
Pembrokeshire, another on the Rhinog range in Merioneth, another on Moelwyn, 
d;c. , and that the existence of this native breed has been overlooked by naturalists. 
1 have myself seen magnificent specimens of wild goats — as wild as chamois, and 
as difficult to approach — on the Rhinog Fawr, and also in Carnarvonshire ; but 
the tourists’ rage for rock-climbing has now driven them from the cliffs of 
Snowdon and the more famous Welsh mountains. Goats are also found in the 
wilds of Skye, Arran, and other rocky parts of Scotland, and occasionally in the 
Lake District. Perhaps some of the readers of N.^^ture Notes may be able to 
throw some light on the interesting question that these facts suggest. 
S. 
Dogs. — A collie belonging to a house in which I have lately been staying has 
had a litter of pups, one of which died. This she buried. I do not remember 
having come across a similar case of maternal instinct in dogs. 
Market IVeston, Thetford. Ed.mund Tho.MAS Daubeny. 
Albinism. — I was shown to-day a specimen of a white mole which was 
caught a day or two ago at Ansty, near Coventry. Is this a rare occurrence ? I 
have seen albinism in birds before, but never in a mole. 
Coveittry, February 27, 1901. S. B. 
[Not very uncommon. — Kd. N. N.~\ 
How Rats Carry Eggs. — On reading the many opinions and suggestions 
as to the manner in which rats carry eggs, I resorted to an expedient which has 
produced the following results. I had a dozen egg-shaped wooden balls made of 
very soft limewood. This was covered with a light coat of white paint. Three 
of these wooden eggs were — when quite dry and without smell — laid in a nest. 
Two disappeared the first night and were replaced by three others. Two of these 
were missing the next day. Then for a period of a week none went. Afterwards 
more were taken, until eight of the twelve had gone. Of these missing eggs, one 
was found in the poultry-yard, and on examination clearly displayed the marks of 
a very sharp, penetrating awl at the thinner end of the dummy egg, both under 
and above, as 1 will call it. We made very careful searches to find where the 
other seven had been taken to, but were unsuccessful, until a loft, where hay had 
been stowed away, was cleared, and there we found five of the other seven eggs. 
Every one of them was marked — say v. gr. “tooth marked” — some with one 
above and one underneath, and some with several (eight to twelve) marks. One 
even bore the signs of a gnawing effort. 
Did a rat carry them in its mouth, or were they removed by a polecat ? Both 
have been seen in the yard. A real egg is rough, and a very small space would 
be enough for the jaw’s grip to hold, when the tooth is sharp and the grip firm 
and steady. The dummies found in the loft were much deeper marked than the 
one picked up in the yard. I leave this statement without a conclusion. 
Foucques, Belgium. H. K. E. 
January, 190 1. 
As to how rats carry eggs, I would like to say what I saw. We kept a road- 
side inn a great number of years, a watercourse running close by. We were 
undermined with rats. One night going into the cellar, which was on a level 
with the smoke-room, I saw three rats in an egg-basket which was on a high shelf, 
some halters hanging hy the shelf. I saw one come down the halters with an egg 
under the chin, and go into its hole under the barrel. On making inquiries from 
the keepers I was told they usually carry them under the chin. 
Roadside (in a contemporary). 
