THE MICE-MICE PROPER. 



333 



It is sufficient for the present to describe the two 



best known species, the Black and the Brown Rat. 



The Black Rat- The Black Rat (Mus rattus) attains a 



length of body of six and one-half 



inches, and a length of tail of seven 



inches, or a total iength of fourteen 



its Origin and 

 Peculiarities. 



and one-half 



\, u V; . . 



THE BLACK RAT. This was formerly the most common of the Rats in Europe and until the invasion of 



the Brown Rat the most formidable. It is still found, not only in Europe, but also in Asia, America and nearly all 

 parts of the world. Its vicious head, coarse fur and scaly, hairless tail are well depicted here. {AIus rattus.) 



inches. Its upper surface is dark brownish black, 

 the lower parts being of a somewhat lighter grayish 

 black hue. The feet are of a grayish brown tint, 

 slightly lighter on the sides. The relatively slen- 

 der tail shows from two hundred and sixty to two 

 hundred and seventy 

 scaly rings. White in- 

 dividuals are not un- 

 common. 



The time when this 

 species first appeared 

 in Europe cannot be 

 definitely determined. 

 Albertus Magnus is 

 the first naturalist to 

 mention it as a Ger- 

 man animal ; conse- 

 quently it was a com- 

 mon animal as early 

 as the thirteenth cen- 

 tury. Gesner speaks 

 of it as being "an 

 animal that is better 

 known to many than 

 is agreeable to them ;" 

 the bishop of Autun 

 excommunicated 

 it from the church in 

 the beginning of the 

 fifteenth century. 

 Possibly it originally 

 came from Persia 

 where it still exists in 

 prodigious numbers. 



Up to the first half of the last century it reigned 

 alone in Europe; since that time the Brown Rat 

 has contested the field and has been so success- 

 ful that the Black Rat has been obliged to recede. 



It is still distributed sparsely over nearly all parts of 

 the globe, however. It rarely occurs in Europe in 

 compact bodies, existing nearly everywhere it is 

 found at all in small, straggling and widely dis- 

 persed colonies. In Germany it seems to be nearly 

 extinct; but there are yet a few places infested by 



it, such as Bremen and 

 Luneburg in northwest- 

 ern Germany, and Rud- 

 olstadt in Thuringia. It 

 has followed Man into 

 all climes of the globe, 

 wandering through the 

 world over land and sea. 

 Undoubtedly it was not 

 indigenous to America, 

 Australia and Africa; 

 but ships conveyed it to 

 all coasts and from the 

 coasts it penetrated far- 

 ther and farther inland. 

 At present it is found in 

 the southern parts of 

 Asia, especially India; 

 in Africa, especially in 

 Egypt, Barbary and the 

 Cape of Good Hope; in 

 parts of America, in Aus- 

 tralia and the islands of 

 the Pacific. 



The Brown The Brown 

 Rat— its origin, Rat (Mus 

 etc ' decumanus) 



is considerably larger, measuring nearly seventeen 

 inches, inclusive of the tail, which is seven inches 

 long. Its color is different on the upper surface 

 from that of the lower parts of the body, the upper 

 parts being a brownish gray; the under parts grayish 



liF^S&^^s^ 



THE BROWN RAT. — The animal shown in the picture is only too familiar. Originally a native of India, he has, 

 during the past two centuries overrun all lands, driving out the weaker Black Rat. The animal in the picture has evi- 

 dently been despoiling the poultry yard. Rats of this species are the most destructive of all Rodents. (Mus decumanus.) 



white, the line of demarcation being quite sharply 

 defined. The tail has, approximately, two hundred 

 and ten scaly rings. The upper surface of the fore- 

 feet sometimes shows short, fine brownish hairs ; 



