NATURAL HISTORY QUERIES. 
7. Stoat and Moles. — Some of your readers may be interested in a 
roadside discovery I recently made between Corfe and Studland. At the edge of 
a moorland road and partly covered by bracken were the remains of five moles 
and a fine stoat, lying in an irregular line. Three of the moles had evidently 
been sucked by the stoat, while the last two lay facing the enemy, but apparently 
unharmed. The stoat itself showed no sign of conflict, but lay curled upon its 
side. Can any of your readers explain this incident ? 
Chine Hall , Boscombe, August 20, 1903. Herbert T. George. 
8. Rats. — On my premises twelve young rats have been found in a single 
nest. Is not this an unusually large litter ? I have come across eight or even ten 
in a family, but never so many as twelve till now. 
August, 1903. Edmund Thos. Daubeny. 
SELBORNE SOCIETY NOTICES. 
Council Meetings. — July 22. — The Council considered and agreed to a 
suggestion that it should keep a record of Selbornian photographs so that all 
interested in the objects of the Society might be able to keep in touch with the 
work done by photographers, amateur and professional. The Council also 
determined to institute inquiries as to the erection, by various bodies, of memorial 
tablets to prominent Selbornian naturalists and writers, and further agreed to 
institute inquiries regarding the extermination of the badger. 
August 26. — Attention was drawn to the wanton destruction of sea birds by 
the Channel Fleet on the Island of Achill ; also to the present fashion of decorat- 
ing ladies’ hats with robins, bullfinches, &c., and lady members are requested to 
note the birds so employed by milliners. 
The usual monthly meeting of the Council will be held at 20, Hanover 
Square, W., on Monday, October 26 (not third Wednesday as formerly), at 
5.30 p.m. ; and the Publications Committee on the second Tuesday, October 13. 
New Member. — James Troubridge Critchell, Esq., East Sheen. 
Subscriptions. -The Council beg to acknowledge the following subscrip- 
tions over 5s. : The Right Hon. Lord Avebury, F.R.S., &c., 21s. ; Col. Samuel 
B. Bevington, J.P., 2ts. ; Miss A. E. F. Barlow, 10s. 
FIELD CLUB RAMBLES. 
August 15. — Pinner to Northwood. Notwithstanding the prevalence of holi- 
days just at this time there was a fair attendance for the walk, which was under 
the guidance of Mr. C. M. Hailes. Though the weather outlook was unfavour- 
able the Selbornians escaped with a dry skin. If the breeze was at times rather 
high, still it was soft and refreshing, and the distance, some five or six miles, was 
covered without inconvenience or fatigue. The way lay across the meadows to 
Eastcote, and there would probably have been more botanical specimens to note 
had not many of the hedges been recently clipped and the ditches cleaned, so 
that in places but little tangle was left for examination. It was curious to 
notice how the wind blew up the undersides of the leaves and so seemed to 
change the tint of the foliage. In one pasture there was a quantity of wood betony 
which engaged attention. The path through the wood abutting on Ruislip was 
very damp in spots and consequently had for the most part to be traversed in 
single file. About the brook Scutellaria grew freely, while Lysimachia nemorum. 
Polygonum Hydropiper, and Erythecea Centaurium were also found. One feature 
of the ramble was the sharp difference between the closeness of the large wood 
and the open space of Ruislip Common. On the latter wild thyme and ling 
flowered well, and large stretches of the adjacent lake were covered with the 
rosy pink blooms of Polygonum amphibium. 
August 29. — About a dozen Members of the Field Club met at Bickley 
Station, and under the able guidance of Mr. A. B. Wilkinson enjoyed a most 
delightful ramble round Chislehurst, the weather being all that could be desired. 
The guide led the way through shady lanes made beautiful by overhanging trees, 
and by field and footpath, calling attention at many points to the varied views 
