THE BLACK KAT. 



CHAPTER V 



Farm and Garden 



In Europe many creatures find the necessary conditions of life in 

 human dwellings ; this being particularly the case with the rats 

 and mice. The largest and at the same time one of the most familiar of these 

 is the brown rat (Mus norvegicus), which is generally brownish grey above and 

 greyish white below, with the middle line of the back in most cases a little darker 

 than the sides. In this species the length of the tail is less than that of the head 

 and body, whereas in the black rat the tail is considerably longer than the body. 

 In addition to this, the ears of the brown rat are one-third the length of the head, 

 while the ears of the black rat are half that length. Moreover, the brown rat 

 has only two hundred and ten rows of scales round the tail, while in the black 

 rat there are from two hundred and fifty to two hundred and sixty such rings. 

 Unlike the brown species, the black rat {M. rattus) is generally of uniform 

 colour, namely, dark brown and black above, and only a little lighter below, while 

 its feet are greyish brown. Although somewhat uncommon, the black rat is still 

 found in some parts of the Continent together with the bi - own rat, the latter 

 generally living in the lower parts of buildings, while the black rat prefers the 

 upper floors. Ship-rats are stated to be almost invariably of the black species. 

 In the much smaller house-mouse (M. musculus) the tail is of the same length as 

 the body, and bears about one hundred and eighty rows of scales, while the ears 



VOL. I. — 17 



