142 



RODENTS. 



rats that frequented the London Zoological Gardens were in the habit of regularly 

 swimming to and fro across the Regent's Canal. When brought to bay, the 

 ferocity with which a rat -will defend itself against a human or canine foe, is 

 known to most persons. When pressed by hunger, rats will, however, occasionally 

 attack human beings without provocation ; and it is on record that an unfortunate 

 man on entering a coal-pit which had been closed for some time, was actually 

 killed and devoured by a starving host of rats. 



The black rat (M. rattus) is smaller and more elegantly built 

 than the brown, with a longer and thinner tail ; the length of the head 

 and body being about 7 inches, while that of the tail varies from 8 to 9 inches. 

 Its snout, moreover, is longer and more slender^ projecting to a greater distance 



Black Rat. 



THE BLACK RAT ( nat. size). 



beyond the lower jaw, while its ears are considerably larger. In Europe the black 

 rat, as its name implies, generally has fur of a deep bluish black colour ; but in 

 India and other parts of the East there are varieties, in one of which the tint is 

 tisually brown above and white below, while in a second the hue is rufous or 

 yellowish brown, and spines are mingled with the fur. When domesticated, white 

 and pied varieties are readily produced ; and most of the rats thus coloured which 

 are exhibited by showmen, belong to this species. In one of the Indian varieties 

 the length of the head and body is not more than 5 inches, while in another it 

 reaches 8 inches. 



Distribution. The black rat is very commonly spoken of as the indigenous 



and Habits. British species ; this, however, is incorrect, as this rat was also intro- 

 duced from the East, although at a much earlier date than its brown cousin. The 

 exact date of its arrival in Europe cannot, however, now be determined, although 

 it is known to have existed on the Continent in the thirteenth century. At the 



