The Descent of Man

Of mammalia in a state of nature I have been
able to learn very little. In regard to the common
rat, I have received conflicting statements.
Mr. R. Elliot, of Laighwood, informs me that a
rat-catcher assured him that he had always
found the males in great excess, even with the
young in the nest. In consequence of this, Mr.
Elliot himself subsequently examined some
hundred old ones, and found the statement
true. Mr. F. Buckland has bred a large number
of white rats, and he also believes that the males
greatly exceed the females. In regard to Moles,
it is said that "the males are much more
numerous than the females" (60. Bell, 'History
of British Quadrupeds,' p. 100.): and as the catching
of these animals is a special occupation,
the statement may perhaps be trusted. Sir A.
Smith, in describing an antelope of S. Africa
(61. 'Illustrations of the Zoology of S. Africa,'
1849, pl. 29.) (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), remarks,
that in the herds of this and other species, the
males are few in number compared with the