White. — On Rats and Mice. lOo 



taius, clothed at their base Avith dark-coloui'ed evergreen 

 forest, while above the timber-liue were Veronicas and areas 

 of yellow-brown covered with tall suow-grass, tangled together 

 by thick masses of their former gi-owth, bending downward, 

 dead and gi"ey, never having been burnt by the Maoris for 

 centuries probably ; crowned with gi-ey peaks where the jagged 

 rocks and their broken fragments pointed to the sky. These 

 ranges were then considered an "Ultima Thule." Looking 

 far away to the east were the dark rough outlines of the Port 

 Hills, and near by Bm-nt Hill, standing alone like an island 

 surrounded by an endless sea of yellow tussock (Poa australis). 

 On favom-able occasions a wonderful mirage would be seen, 

 when the silver line of the waters of the Waimakarhi would 

 be distinctly seen picttired above the edge of the horizon, a 

 gUstening, winding, silver band with its fringe of small kowhai- 

 trees clearly defined. In looking for my flock of sheep I have 

 seen them like rows of trees, when, in reality, they were 

 hidden in lower ground some two miles away, and were not 

 to be seen looking from half the distance with the aid of a 

 telescope. A telescope was an essential part of a shepherd's 

 outfit in those days. On the occurrence of a mu-age the day 

 would be hot, and the evaporation, when closely noticed, 

 could be seen ascending with a quivering, tremulous motion 

 some 6ft. upwards from the heated ground. Taking a spade 

 and the pointers, we would beat around, and the dogs would 

 presently come to a stand. Going up, an area of some 10ft. 

 would be noticed of a nice bright-green colour among the 

 prevailing brown, being free from ttissock, and covered by a 

 small flattish-leaved grass, whose leaves had their points 

 curved or bent towards the gi'ound. At distances apart in 

 this green patch were nmuerous rat -holes. We would com- 

 mence to dig, and the dogs stood ready to field the rats — of 

 which there was generally quite a small community — as tliey 

 bolted. One day a laughable scene occm-red : a dog had just 

 nabbed a rat, when another rttshed out. Bravo opened liis 

 mouth automatically, as it were, and the rat, in his huny, 

 jumped straight in. The dog then, with two rats hidden in his 

 capacious mouth, looked round in a dazed and helpless man- 

 ner, as if asking advice what to do under these strange con- 

 ditions. At other times a rat would spring at a dog, and 

 hang to its nose or pendulous upper lip like a veritable bull- 

 dog. 



This same green giass, I tliink, was similar to a kind seen 

 since in Hawke's Bay. If so, it has a large seed, which 

 might have been collected as food and stored by the rats, some 

 of which being di'opped would grow around their dwellings. 

 Yet I do not remember finding any stored, but only nests of 

 dry grass. Or the ground being manured and made fertile by 



