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Show 1899.] ON EUROPEAN SQUIRRELS. 3 possiby this last point might not hold good in a large series of Ferrets. Of the British Mustelidce, the Stoat had by far the biggest feet in proportion to its size; the Polecat had relatively very small feet, those of Ferrets being decidedly larger; while the feet of these hybrids were markedly larger than the normal size of those of Ferrets. Mr. Cocks also exhibited the skull of the reputed hybrid which bad died ; together with, for comparison, a skull of a Stoat, of a Polecat, and of a Polecat-Ferret cross (</.' Zoologist,' 1880, p. 396). Mr. R. E. Holding exhibited some specimens of malformed antlers of the Axis and Fallow Deer, and made the following remarks upon them :- " The Axis Deer (Cervus axis) (fig. A, p. 4) lived over three years in the Manchester Zoological Gardens, and on its death the body was kindly sent to m e by the proprietors, Messrs. Jennison. For a considerable portion of this time it had seemed to be in ill-health. The horns were never shed during that time. About two years ago the soft tumour-like excrescences began to form at the base of the horns. I saw it early last year, and it was then apparently suffering from some wasting disease, probably tuberculosis. It died early in December. There was unfortunately no post-mortem; but judging from numerous notes and specimens collected, and from records in veterinary pathology, I think the specimen is interesting as showing the intimate association between continued ill-health and defective horn-growth. " The Fallow Buck (Cervus dama) (fig. B, p. 4) was five years old when shot in August last and was in good condition. Throughout last year it had grown a perfectly normal pair of horns. The abnormality of the left horn is apparently due to a purely local cause, viz., imperfect formation of the " burr" directly after shedding the horns, causing the temporal artery, which supplies the blood to the horn when at the velvety stage, to course through a hole in the centre of the burr, and so dividing the beam up into points. Some indication of disease at the pedicle is also apparent." Mr. G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton, F.Z.S., exhibited some specimens of European Squirrels, Sciurus vulgaris Linnaeus, to illustrate the local colour-variations. He pointed out that the British Squirrel was as different from those found on the Continent as any animal could well be, being distinguishable at all seasons of the year and not intergrading with Continental specimens. Yet naturalists had been slow to recognize this fact; and the extraordinary seasonal changes in the coat of the animal (unparalleled, he believed, among mammals) had never been systematically studied until taken in hand by Mr. Oldfiekl Thomas (see 'Zoologist,' 1896, p. 401). The correct name for the British Squirrel (as had been pointed out by Mr. Thomas) appeared to be Sciurus leucurus1 Kerr. 1 Spelt leucourus by Kerr (cf. ' Animal Kingdom,' p. 256, 1792). 1* |
