1909.] R. E Lloyd : The Races of Indian Rats. 81 



Bombay. 



The rats of Bombay have been fully dealt with by Captain 

 Listen and the workers of the Plague Commission. Judging from 

 several specimens lent by the Bombay Natural History Society, I 

 conclude that the three kinds of Mus rattus, the black, the brown 

 and the brown white-bellied, are commonly found there. 



In concluding this systematic account I must express m}' 

 thanks to all those gentlemen who have contributed measurements 

 and specimens. Thanks are especially due to Captain G. I. Davys, 

 I. M.S., who, aided b}' his assistant, H. A. Khazan Chand, has sent 

 over one thousand. The extent of their work can only be properly 

 appreciated by any one who has measured and skinned even twent}^ 

 rats in a hot climate. 



Although I have not always agreed with Dr. Hossack's con- 

 clusions, I have never been able to dispute his observations; and 

 I must repeat my thanks to him for introducing me to the subject, 

 and for establishing the precedent of examining rats in large numbers. 



Finally, my thanks are especially due to Dr. Annandale not 

 onh' for the interest he has shown in the work daj' by day but for 

 his steadying influence among the perplexity of sports and races, as 

 well as for the liberal wa}' in which, as Editor of the Indian Museum 

 Records, he has allowed me to express views which are not quite in 

 accordance with museum traditions. 



APPENDIX I. 

 The Bearing of the Enquiry on Plague Dissemination. 



Since it has been recognised that rats are important factors 

 in the dissemination of plague, the attention of many has been 

 turned towards these rodents. In consequence it became evident 

 that we knew little of the distribution of their several races in India, 

 and that some of the hitherto accepted statements in regard to 

 them must be looked upon doubtfully. It was shown that mole- 

 rats, which were considered solely as dwellers in the fields, could, 

 in some circumstances, become intimately associated with man, 

 while in other circumstances house rats might establish themselves 

 in the fields. Doubt was felt as to the extent to which the wander- 

 ing gre}' rat {Mus decumanus) prevailed in India. It was shown 

 that the races of rats infesting Calcutta and Bombay were re- 

 markably different from one another, so that it became desirable 

 to compare them with those of other ports. The present enquir}' 

 is an attempt to throw light on some of these questions. 



The extermination of rats has been largely carried out in 

 many districts in India as a means of directly diminishing plague 

 mortality. Such measures are perhaps partly of an experimental 

 nature ; the question of their efficacv cannot be discussed here, — 



