UURIDJE. 



MUKID.E. 



Ml 



tolling*, on the banks of canal* and riven, and even iu islands at a 

 considerable distance from the mainland, or from larger inlands, to 

 which it faai been introduced by shipping. Thus, he states, it is found 

 on many of the islet* of the Hebrides in considerable numbers, feeding 

 on grass, shell-fish, and L'nutacta, and burrowing in the banks; "for 

 although not essentially amphibious, like the Water-Rat, it does not 

 hesitate on occasion to betake itself to the water, and flocks have been 

 seen swimming from one island to another." 



According to Dr. Uarlan the Brown Rat did not make its appearance 

 in North America until the year 1775. When Sir Johu Richardson 

 wrote ('Fauna Boreali-Americana') it was very common in Lower 

 Canada ; but he was informed that in 1825 it had not advanced much 

 beyond Kingston in Upper Canada. He did not observe it in the Fur 

 Countries; and if it does exist there, he thinks that it is only at 

 the mouth of the Columbia Uiver, or at the commercial stations on 

 the shores of Hudson's Bay. 



This species is eminently carnivorous, bold, ferocious, and most 

 destructive in the game-preserve and poultry-yard, where the eggs 

 ami young birds are preyed upon by them without mercy. In towns 

 carrion and oflal form their chief subsistence. An official report to 

 the French government on the proposition for removing the establish- 

 ment for slaughtering horses at Montfaucon gives an account of their 

 numbers and voracity almost appalling; indeed one of the chief 

 arguments against the removal was the danger to the neighbourhood 

 of suddenly depriving these voracious animals of their usual food. 

 The carcasses of the slaughtered horses, sometimes to the amount of 

 thirty-fire per diem, are found next morning picked to the bare bone 

 by the rats. A part of this establishment is inclosed by solid walls, 

 at the bottom of which several holes axe made for the entrance and 

 exit of these vermin. Into this place Dusuassois, the proprietor, put 

 the dead bodies of two or three horses; and having stopped up all the 

 holes towards midnight, with as little noise as possible, he, with several 

 workmen, each bearing a torch in one band and a stick in the other, 

 suddenly entered the inclosure, shut the door, and began a general 

 massacre. Wherever a blow was directed, even without aim, a rat 

 was killed ; and those which attempted to escape by running up the 

 walls were quickly knocked down. The dead of one night amounted 

 to 2650; the result of four hunts was 9101; and by repeating the 

 experiment at intervals of a few days, Dusuassois destroyed 16,050 

 rats in the space of a month. Now when it is recollected that the 

 yard in which these numbers were killed does not contain more than 

 a twentieth of the area over which the dead horses are spread, some 

 idea may be formed of the multitudes that infest this place ; indeed 

 the adjoining fields uud eminences are riddled with their burrows, 

 and their paths thereto may be traced from the inclosures where the 

 horses are slaughtered. 



This rat is grayish-brown above and grayish-white beneath, and the 

 tail is shorter than the head and body. Air. Bell gives the following 

 dimensions, from which its superiority in size to the Black Rat will 

 be evident : 



Inches. Lines. 



Length of the head and body . . .10 8 

 Length of the head ... .24 



Length of the ears 08 



Length of the tail . . . .8 2 



White or yellowish-white varieties, being albiuoes with red eyes, 

 and variegated individuals, sometimes occur. 



Mui Jf tucWtu, the Common or Domestic Mouse, needs no description. 

 It seems to be entirely dependent on civilised man, and has never been 

 found at a distance from his dwelling. White varieties with pink eyes 

 are kept and propagated as pets by those who admire such albinoes ; 

 they are pretty little animals, and soon become familiar. This well- 

 known species is La Souris of the French ; Topo, Sorcio, and Sorgio 

 di Casa, of the Italians ; Rat of the Spanish ; Ratinho of the Portu- 

 guese; Maus and Hausmaus of the Germans; Muys of the Dutch; 

 Mus of the Swedes ; Muus of the Danes ; Llygoden of the Welsh ; 

 Mm domalicia communu vcl minor of Oesner ; and J/IM domtttiau 

 ralgaru K minor of Ray. 



Sir John Richardson saw a dead mouse in a storehouse at York 

 Factory filled with packages from England, and he thinks it probable 

 that the species may have been introduced into all the ports on the 

 bores of Hudson's Bay ; but he never heard of its being taken in the 

 Fur Countries at a distance from the sea-coast Mr. Say informed 

 him that it was introduced at Engineer Cantonment, on the Missouri, 

 by Major Long's expedition. 



Asiatic Rate and Mice. 



It seems to be certain that the Brown Rat is an Asiatic species, and 

 the Black Rat is not without chums to a similar' geot;raphical origin ; 

 but among the most formidable of the Oriental RaU is the Mut 

 yiy**teia of Hardwicke, M<u Malabarictu of Shaw. Of this rat 

 Ueoeral Hardwicke gives a faithful figure, of the size of life, in the 

 seventh volume of the ' Transactions of the Linnscan Society.' It has 

 the appearance of a Brown Rat dilated to gigantic proportions, and 

 It is impossible to look at it without thinking what the consequences 

 might be if it were ever to be imported and naturalised in Europe. 

 Above it is most hairy and black ; beneath inclining to gray. The 



animal figured was a female, and weighed 2 log. lljoz. Its total 

 length was 26} inches, of which the tail measured 13 inches. The 

 male grows larger, and weighs 3 Ibs. and upwards. " This rat," writes 

 the General, " is found in many places on the coast of Coromandel, in 

 Mysore, and in several parts of Bengal between Calcutta and Hurdwar. 

 It is partial to dry situations, and hardly ever found distant from 

 habitations. The lowest caste of Hindoos eat the flesh of this rat in 

 preference to that of any other species. It is a most mischievous 

 animal, burrows to a great depth, and will pass under the foundations 

 of granaries and storehouses, if not deeply laid. Mud or unburnt 

 brick walls prove no security against its attacks, and it commonly 

 perforates such buildings in all directions. It is destructive in 

 gardens, and roots up the seeds of all leguminous plants sown within 

 iU haunt*. Cucurbitaceous plants and fruits also suffer by its depre- 

 dations. When grain and vegetables are not within its reach, or scarce, 

 it will attack poultry ; but the former is its choicest food." Dr. Gray 

 remarks that the geographical range of Afiu giganteiu appears to be 

 very extensive, Mr. Charles Hardwicke having transmitted to the 

 British Museum a specimen from Van Piemen's Land. 



if. tetifcr (Horsf.). The Tikus-Wirok of the Javanese was considered 

 by M. Temminck and others to be the young of this species ; but this 

 opinion is corrected by Dr. Gray ('ZooL Proc.,' 1832), who points out 

 the differences. Dr. Horsfield states that it is found in Java at the 

 confines of woods and forests, and, according to his observations, rarely 

 approaches the villages and dwellings of the natives, who describe it 

 however as a bold and mischievous animal, and the Doctor says that 

 the robustness of its form and the remarkable size and strength of its 

 front teeth agree with this character : its nose, he adds, is evidently 

 employed in burrowing the ground in search of its food ; and its tail 

 has the character of those species which are in the habit of frequenting 

 the water. Mr. Hodgson states that M. decumamu nud M. Rat tut are 

 both very numerous and troublesome iu Nepaul ; that Hf. Miuculiu 

 is very uncommon ; and that Field-Mice are frequently met with. 



African Rats and Mice. 



if. Barbaras, the Barbary Mouse, will serve as an example of the 

 African species. It is of a darkish-brown colour, with five or six 

 yellowish longitudinal stripes on each side, about half as wide as the 

 intervening spaces, and becoming confused towards the under parts, 

 which are nearly white. Mr. Bennett observes, that on the fore feet 

 only three of the toes are at first visible ; and that this circumstance, 

 mentioned in the specific character given by Linnaeus, has led many 

 subsequent naturalists to doubt whether the Barbary Mouse really 

 belonged to the genus with which it was associated. Linmcus him- 

 self, continues Mr. Bennett, had however stated, in his description of 

 the species, that rudiments of a thumb, and also of a fifth toe, were 

 observable on a closer inspection ; and this statement, he adds, was 

 fully confirmed by the examination of the specimens in the Meungcriu 

 of the Zoological Society of London, which were intermediate in sue 

 between the Common Rat and Common Mouse. 







liartary Mouse (Mia Jtarbariu). 



It is a native of Barbary, where they are not rare, and where the 

 name given to them by the natives is Phur-AzCff, the Palmetto Mouse. 



American Rats and Mice. 



Some of the best examples of the forms of American Mice will bo 

 found in the 'Zoology of H.M.S. Beagle,' where many species are 

 figured. They were collected by Charles Darwin, Esq., at various parts 

 of the southern coast of South America, namely, Coquimbo, Valparaiso, 

 Port Desire, Maldonodo, Bahia Blanco, &c. Mr. Waterhouso first 

 described those in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society of 



