302 Transactions. — ZcjoU 



'U!J- 



rats were found lying together dead near the fireplace. In 

 another house on the opposite side of the same street thirty- 

 seven were found under ihe floor of the kitchen. Indeed, the 

 whole town was pervaded with the odour of dead rats. It 

 took the place of pastille in the drawing-rooms, and over- 

 powered that of sanctity, even, in the churches. 



In size and general appearance the bush-rat differs much 

 from the common brown rat. The average weight of full- 

 grown specimens is about 2oz. The fur on the upper portions 

 of the body is dark-brown, inclining to black ; on the lower 

 portions white or greyish-white. The head is shorter, the 

 snout not so sharp, and the countenance milder, or less fierce, 

 than in the brown species. In 1884 and during the present 

 year numbers of these animals were to be seen with their tails 

 more or less mutilated and diseased. 



On the open ground the bush-rat moves comparatively 

 slowly, evidently finding much difficulty in surmounting clods 

 and other impedimenta ; hence they are easily taken and de- 

 stroyed. Ill running tliey do not arch the back as much as the 

 brown rat. This awkwardness on the ground is at once 

 exchanged for extreme activity when climbing trees. These 

 they ascend with the nimbleness of flies, running out to the very 

 extremities of the branches with amazing quickness ; hence, 

 when pursued they invariably make to trees if any are within 

 reach. The instinct which impels them to seek safety by leav- 

 ing the ground was curiously illustrated here this season : a 

 rat, on being disturbed by a plough, ran for awhile before the 

 moving implement, and then up the horse-reins, which were 

 dragging along the ground. Another peculiarity of these 

 animals is that when suddenly startled or pursued they cry 

 out with fear, thus betraying their whereabouts, an indiscre- 

 tion of which the common rat is never guilty. 



"While the rats were about the Pelorus Valley in 1884, and 

 again in the present year, many nests were foimd evidently 

 constructed by them . These nests, which are built of fine grass, 

 leaves, and other soft materials, are placed under the roots of 

 trees, amongst rushes, and not infrequently in tlie crowns of 

 tree-ferns ; but for what purpose they are intended I do not 

 know — as far as I have been able to ascertain, young ones have 

 never been found in them. 



The extremely few females that occur amongst the count- 

 less hordes is a fact that shows that if breeding does take 

 place at all during these periods it must be on a very limited 

 scale. 



Besides these nests there are to be found, hing on the 

 ground in the shade of the bush, the hollow trunks of fern- 

 trees containing quantities of the stones of the hinau fruit, 

 each stone having a small hole pierced in the side, through 



