138 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 
The Black Rat was, of course, well known to Sibbald, 
Walker, and other early writers. Neill includes it in his 
Habbie’s Howe and Tweeddale lists (1808 and 1815), and 
Stark (“ Picture of Edinburgh,” 1834) tells us that it “ still 
inhabits the garrets of the high houses in the old city.” Two 
years later Rhind dismisses it with the remark, “ now 
rare” (“ Excursions,’ p. 132); and in 1838 MacGillivray 
(“ British Quadrupeds,” p. 238) wrote thus—* In Edinburgh it 
appears to be completely extirpated, as I have not seen a 
specimen obtained there within these fifteen years.” 
In his list of Forfarshire animals (1813), Don says the 
Black Rat “is the only species I have seen in the town of 
Forfar, and it is not rare in all the inland parts of Angus- 
shire” (“ Headrick’s Agriculture of Forfar,’ App., p. 38). 
The brown furred or tropical race, known as Mus alexan- 
drinus, though abundant in the shipping in the Forth, 
apparently more so than the typical form, is not yet known 
to have obtained a footing on shore. The first record is that 
of an example received in Dec. 1888 by Mr Harvie-Brown 
from H.M.S. “ Devastation,” then stationed at Queensferry, 
and reported by Mr Eagle Clarke at a meeting of the Royal 
Physical Society on 19th March 1890; subsequently (August 
1889) Mr Clarke had a cageful brought to him by a professional 
rat-catcher, who had just captured them on board one of the 
Leith and Aberdeen steamers (Scot. Nat., 1891, p. 36). I 
have since examined several others, also from Leith steamers. 
In Bell’s “ British Quadrupeds” the occurrence of this race in 
Britain is not positively asserted, though Lord Clermont, in 
1859, had written—“Is often found in numbers in vessels 
from Egypt when discharging their cargoes of corn in British 
ports, but does not appear to spread in those towns, being 
probably kept down by the common species” (“ Quadrupeds 
and Reptiles of Europe,” p. 100). 
Mus muscuutus £Z. House Mousse. 
The House Mouse is only too common throughout the 
length and breadth of the district, establishing itself in and 
about human dwellings and other buildings, no matter how 
