MAMMALS h.im a fine badger which had been taken alive with its young one, but it unfortunately soon died in consequence of improper feeding. 23. Otter. Lutralutra, Linn. Bell — Lutra vulgaris. Occurs in several of the streams of the county. It is occasionally hunted at Farning- ham and elsewhere. 24. Common Seal. Phoca vitulina, Linn. Recorded from the Thames and Medway. R. Pocock- wrote in 1809, 'seals were most uncommon.' RODENTIA 25. Squirrel. Sciurus leucourus, Kerr. Bell — Sciurus vulgaris. Very common in some of the wooded dis- tricts, particularly where the sweet chestnut is grown. It has a habit of making two or three ' dreys,' or nests, at a time, which it frequents at breeding time ; if its young be in any way disturbed, they are quickly re- moved to another ' drey.' It lives largely on nuts, but when these are unobtainable, exists chiefly on various fungi. 26. Dormouse. Muscardinus avellanarius, Linn. Bell — My ox us avellanarius. Locally, Sleeper. This interesting little mammal is widely distributed throughout the county, but pro- bably is not very abundant anywhere. 27. Common Brown Rat. Mus decumanus, Pallas. In our cornfields, stacks, hedges and build- ings, and by the waterside this pest is abundant. 28. Black Rat. Mus rattus, Linn. Fielding ' mentions having seen several Kentish specimens. It is a recognized native, , and the writer has seen it more than once ; but in the great majority of instances when informed of its presence by country people, he has found the animal to be merely a dingy brown rat. 29. House Mouse. Mus musculus, Linn. Too common. 30. Wood Mouse or Long-tailed Mouse. Mus sylvaticus, Linn. The long-tailed, wood or field mouse is very abundant in some places ; it seldom comes to houses. Weasels are its inveterate foes. 31. Harvest Mouse, il/w^ /«/««<«/, Pallas. Of occasional occurrence. A specimen from Detling and a nest presented by Mr. Bunyard of Maidstone are in the Maidstone Museum. Fielding, Memories of Mailing. 32. Water Vole. Microtus amphibius, Linn. Bell — Arvicola amphibius. Common, bufless so than formerly. 33. Field Vole. Microtus agrestis, Linn. Bell — Arvicola agrestis. Locally, Short-tailed Field Mouse. Common, and widely distributed throughout the county, but not so abundant as former- ly. The Board of Agriculture, in one of its leaflets,' reports that this animal proved a source of much loss in Kent three hundred years ago. Weasels and owls kill large num- bers of them. 34. Bank Vole. Evotomys glareolus, Schreber. Bell — Arvicola glareolus. Mr. L. E. Adams in the Zoologist * writes : ' Last August I came upon a nest of young bank voles amongst some refuse in a hedge bank ; I am sure of its identity. I believe it to be common in the neighbourhood, although I do not remember it having been recorded in Kent before.' In another number of the same paper ^ a very large specimen from Wingham is recorded. This was a female, and measured 6 in. from tip of nose to tip of tail ; length of head and body,
in. Bell gives the length of body and
head at 3-4 in., and of tail 1-5 in. Speci- mens are frequently met with throughout the county. 35. Hare. Lepus europceus, Pallas. Bell — Lepus timidus. It was commonly thought in the county that the Ground Game Act would cause this animal to be exterminated, as so much arable land is devoted to market gardening and fruit culture. But, on the contrary, it seems to be nearly as abundant now as formerly. 36. Rabbit. Lepus cuniculus, Linn. Generally very abundant ; so much so that it does an incredible amount of damage to 2 G. M. Arnold : op. cit. 3 Leaflet No. 6. < The Zoologist (1895), p. 427. ^ Ibid. (ser. 4), ii. p. 477. 305 39
