Stewart Island lies below the southernmost bluff of South Island, from which it is separated by the deceptive Foveaux Strait. In shape it is an irregular isosceles triangle with a base extending north-west and south-east along the Foveaux Strait. Having an area of only 665 square miles it is by far the smallest of the three main islands of New Zealand. It is interesting to note that the forty-seventh parallel of latitude south passes through the middle of Stewart Island; the forty-seventh parallel north cuts Switzerland in half.

In the last issue it was announced that during a conference on British mammals organized by the University of Birmingham on 23rd to 26th April, it was proposed to launch a national society for the study of British mammals. This has now been done, and the society will be known as the Mammal Society of the British Isles. The main aim of the society will be to study the distribution, breeding biology and habits of mammals, both native and introduced, in the British Isles and in the seas surrounding them. It is hoped, for instance, to prepare at a fairly early stage a comprehensive work on British mammals comparable to The Handbook of British Birds, but not necessarily exactly modelled on it. It was made clear that the new society would not be primarily interested in the protection and conservation of mammals, which fell within the sphere of the Fauna Preservation Society, though it would always be prepared to co-operate with the F.P.S. and other interested bodies, in securing either specific or general aims in this field.

Although roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, are at present fairly widely distributed in Britain, and in many areas are undoubtedly increasing and extending their range, their numbers and numerical trends vary greatly in different localities. It is, moreover, apparent that the status of the species, in given habitats, is conditioned by factors other than human control and the availability of adequate cover and keep. Relevant comparison may be made between the respective success and failure of attempts to reintroduce roe to Dorset and to Epping Forest. The increase of roe after their release near Milton Abbas, in Dorset, about the year 1800, was remarkably rapid and within a few decades they had become common in almost all suitable localities in the county. During the two world wars, particularly the 1939–1945 war, they suffered heavy casualties at the hand of farmers and others, yet in the opinion of many observers roe actually increased in Dorset during these periods.

In Oryx, Vol. 2, No. 3, there was a brief account of the Otter Committee and how and why it was formed. There are many problems which it has been endeavouring to solve, particularly in connection with the otters' breeding and feeding habits. One important question is whether this delightful animal is a menace to fishing and in need of control, as some people believe, or whether in fact it is a harmless, beneficial creature, which deserves peace and protection from mankind.

For many years, in fact since the lamented demise of The Zoologist in 1916, the study of mammals in Great Britain has been greatly handicapped by the lack of a specialist journal. This deficiency it is now hoped to remedy by publishing in Oryx a regular section devoted to the natural history and conservation of British mammals. The twin aims of the section are well illustrated by the two articles in this first issue, one on the field study and identification of British bats, by Michael Blackmore, the other on the case for a close season for deer, by G. K. Whitehead, both among the leading experts in their respective fields. In addition it is hoped to publish regularly short notes on matters of general rather than local interest, to review books on or largely devoted to British mammals, and to abstract from local natural history journals any papers or notes of more than local interest. Editors of local journals, and secretaries of the mammal sections of local natural history societies and field clubs, could help this work greatly by sending me copies of their journals or reprints of any sections of articles relating to mammals. Address: Drifts, Chinnor Hill, Oxford.

In April, 1952, the Poaching of Deer (Scotland) Bill was discussed and had a second reading in the House of Lords. Although the Bill provided for penalties of £20 for a first offence on summary conviction and a fine of £100, or two years' imprisonment, or both, in cases of conviction on indictment, there were two apparent weaknesses to which attention was called—namely that the powers to arrest poachers were given only to policemen, and secondly that the Bill did not include a close season for deer. Unfortunately this Bill was among the four Government Bills which were crowded out before the summer session ended, and since then, so far as I am aware, has not been included in any subsequent projected legislation.

In the winter of 1951–52 a few members of the Bishop's Stortford College Natural History Society decided to make a particular study of the bats frequenting the local countryside, both during the period of hibernation and in the active season.

Comparatively little work has been done to ascertain the distribution and habits of British bats. Much of the data in standard works on mammals is scanty and some of the more detailed accounts of habits appear to have been based on behaviour in captivity, which may vary considerably from that of bats in their natural environment.