RAT AND MOUSE TRAINING 167 



which retains him is held securely. He will, probably run 

 around to examine the locality and then make an attempt to 

 escape. At this point he must be gently but firmly drawn 

 back, and we would advise that the first lesson consist merely 

 in teaching hiui the uselessness of these attempts. At the next 

 lesson a light wand, of willow or other wood, about twenty 

 inches long, should be provided. Shortening the confining 

 string so as to have your animal " well in hand/' you make 

 him travel back and forth across the table in a straight Ime 

 several times, guiding him by placing yoar wand in his way 

 whenever he swerves from the correct course. Then make him 

 go in a circle, then along a piece of board, or books laid on an 

 edge, and any other convenient exercises to habituate him to 

 follow your guidance. Remember, in doing this, that your ob- 

 ject is to teach him — ^not to torment him. This wand is the 

 real key to the performances of rats and mice. Though, these 

 animals, doubtless, possess considerable sagacity, nearly all the 

 tricks we have ever seen them perform have been mere obedience 

 to the guidance of the exhibitor 5 so that when your pupil will 

 go in the desired direction at the slightest hint with your wand, 

 the main part of his training is accomplished, and you have only 

 to arrange various little tricks in which the obedience will come 

 in play. 



By placing an obstacle in his way of such a shape as he can- 

 not readily climb over, and urging him forward, he may be 

 taught to leap -, soon little hoops of wire or wood may be held 

 for him to jump through, and these may be raised gradually 

 with successive lessons until he will spring a considerable dis- 

 tance into the air to go through them. During all the time of 

 training it should be your object to tame your pupil and inspire 

 him with confidence in you ; this will enable you eventually to 

 remove the string which secures him, and so add to the credit 

 of your exhibition. He should also be accustomed to take food 

 from your hand or from' the point of a bit of stick. This will 

 serve as the foundation of many amusing tricks. Thus a small 

 piece of cheese may be placed on the end of a string or wire so 

 arranged that the removal of the cheese will cause a little bell 

 to ring or produce some other pleasing effect. After the first 

 few lessons with this arrangement, in which the mouse will have 

 become accustomed to securing his food in this way, the cheese 

 may be simply rubbed on sufficiently to induce him to bite at it. 

 He should at first be guided up to it with the wand and tapped 

 gently under his chin to induce him to rise and seize it. A 

 variation of this is the trick of carrying articles in his mouth. 

 First give him some article throughly smeared with cheese ; the 



