THE RAINS 97 



There are several varieties of garden rat. In my 

 compound I have found three ; one was the pretty- 

 variety : the other two varieties, though they differed in 

 form and colour, were alike in the repulsiveness of their 

 aspect. I term these rats " garden rats " to distinguish 

 them from the field rats, which live away from human 

 habitations, in the open fields and waste places, and 

 which, besides, are quite different in their habits. The 

 garden rats are solitary ; the field rats live in com- 

 munities, and, like our rabbits, form warrens. They 

 usually select some piece of waste land, slightly 

 levated. Here, in the evenings, they may be seen 

 itting or scampering about in scores ; they are not the 

 least shy or timid. They will allow one to approach 

 within a few yards without exhibiting any appre- 

 hension ; on a nearer approach, they run into their 

 holes, but reappear immediately as soon as one 

 commences to retire. These field rats are very large, 

 and in appearance, of all the varieties of Indian rat, 

 they are the most disgusting. Their repulsive aspect 

 is increased by a tuft of coarse, wiry-looking hair at 

 the extremity of their tails. 



These rats are a veritable plague to the cultivator 

 from the damage they do to the crops. In ordinary 

 seasons their numbers are kept down by the rains; 

 during the rainy season their burrows are flooded, 

 and their young destroyed in thousands ; but if the 

 rains are deficient, this fate they escape : their numbers 

 then increase to an extent that threatens a calamity. 

 The ingenuity of the villagers is taxed to the utmost 

 to find means to destroy them. These field rats, 



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