Till' BROWN 



I.M 



published in HayW.i Geological Reports, 1HT7, furnishes a vast amount of valuable matter 



oil tll- subject. 



MemU-rsof this order l-|,n^ to all ]M>rtions of the glol*-, and an- particularly abundant 

 in America, where there are said to be an many an are known to all juris- <.f the world. The 

 oi-der c..n!ains in*. i,. s|,,.<-ies tlmn any other class of inaiiunals. !!. -.-n ,.j-|,t and nine hundred 

 being known, and th.-\ an- \.-ry evenly distributed. In South America there are m on- than in 

 the northern half of the New World; but the great number of sin-cies included in tin- on.- 

 _ mi>. II. -| i.. in\ -. i-aiix- this p. |...!! !. I.IM. 



There ore no indigenous Rodents common to both Europe and America, exceptinK the 

 beaver, whirh is regarded by aome&n the same in lx>th count ri.-s. The Musk Itjit and a >|H-<-i,~. 

 of SpermophiluB are said to occur in Kamtsrhatka ; in this i-vent th."-- would hoi 

 tions. There are no South American >iH-ci.>s in North Am.-rira, l>ut a r|,,-,> r.-lati<iiNlii]( exists 

 ln-twcen tin- Lreu.-ni V\;illav jfives the following, asregjinl the family of HcNlents, and nunilier 

 of geneni and >!< i,-*. Mnriil(f t the Mouse family, has thirty-.seven genem, and three hundred 



BLACK RAT.- JAu rattw. 



Itun 



and thirty species. Tin- true Mou^. ithe species common to our houses), he records as not 

 found indigenous in North nor South America, nor the three insular groups belonjrfng to the 

 Australian region, but it is indiirenous in the remaining portions of the globe very widely. 

 Hesperomys represents it in the New World eighty or more species ore enumerated. The 

 1'orket Mouse family, (Saccomyidir) has -i\ -.-nera and thirty-three species, all in North 

 Ami-rica. The Besiver family (f'/.vA//-/v/r) has one genus and two specie, in America and 

 Europe. The Squirrels (Sriiiriihn have eight genera and nearly two hundred species. 

 These are largely from North America, and Europe and Asia. They are not found in the 

 West Indies, in Australia, and in South America as far north as Paraguay. 



FEW animals are so well known or so thoroughly det-*ted as the common BROWJT RAT, or 

 N'OKWAV HAT. a* it N sometime* erroneously calli-d. 



It has> spread itself over almost ( .\..ry jKirtion of the globe, taking paasages in almost every 

 ship that tra verses the ocean, and landiui: on almost every shore whicJi the vessel may touch. 

 Wherever they set their feet, the Brown Rate take up their alxnle : and. U-im: singularly pro- 

 litic animals, soon establish themselves in perpetuity. They are marvellous exterminators of 



