{Authors are responsible for nomenclature used.) 



The Scottish Naturalist 



No. 53.] 1916 [May 



EDITORIAL. 



The History of British Mammals, commenced by the late 

 G. E, H. Barrett-Hamilton, and carried on by Martin 

 A. C. Hinton, continues to make progress, Part XVIII. 

 having been issued quite recently. Only two species are 

 dealt with, viz. : the Harvest Mouse {Micromys minutus, 

 Pallas), to which twenty-one pages are devoted, and the 

 Black or Ship Rat {Epimys rattus, Linn.), the consideration 

 of which occupies the same amount of space, and is carried 

 forward to the next part. It is interesting to note that the 

 latter species is divided into three subspecies — the Black 

 Rat proper {E. rattus rattus), the Alexandrine Rat {E. rattus 

 alexandrinns^, and E. rattus frugivoriis, the last named of 

 which still remains to be considered. Very complete and 

 carefully compiled accounts are given of the distribution of 

 these rodents in Britain. We learn that the Harvest Mouse 

 " undoubtedly has occurred and probably still occurs in 

 Scotland, but it must be very local, and cannot be any- 

 where numerous"; it appears also to be less frequently met 

 with than formerly. The introduction of the Black Rat, 

 which came from the East, is discussed in great detail, and 

 an interesting account given of the extermination of this 

 species in many parts of Britain by its larger and stronger 

 relative, the Brown Rat. Three full-page illustrations and 

 two text-figures accompany the letterpress. 



53 N 



