THE WATER RAT 



423 



animal is prolific, and probably has several 

 litters (live being the usual number of 

 young) during the warm months. I have 

 found hairless infants in October. During 

 hard weather Water Rats are not much 

 in evidence, and, I fancy, lie up in their 

 burrows in a semi-torpid condition. They 

 are capable, however, of withstanding 

 very severe cold. 



During one hard winter the six-inch 

 depth of water in the tank to which 

 I have already referred was frozen sohd 

 for se\'eral days. I provided my Water 

 Rats with hay to make a nest of, but they 

 preferred to warm themselves by feeding 

 and exercise. When the thaw came they 

 constructed a burrow out of the hay. In 

 the first place they wetted it completely, 

 and then they made a nest, or rather a 

 succession of nests (for the experiment 

 was repeated), each with one outlet per- 

 pendicularly upwards, no doubt for ven- 

 tilation. and one beneath the surface of 

 the water. 



On the whole the Water Rat may be 

 considered harmless, and the good work 

 which he does in keeping down the growth 

 of water weeds should justify his being 

 protected. 



In the old days, when water power was 

 largely employed in the manufacture of 

 black powder, his presence in a factory 

 was by no means desirable. He tun- 

 nelled into the artificial banks which 

 were designed to ensure a good head of 

 water, and he attacked the plantations 

 of willow and osier destined for charcoal. 

 Even now his burrows may cause trouble 

 to the miller, but against this should be 

 set his services in keeping the water 

 channels clear. 



Plagues of Water Rats are not un- 

 known, but are not so frequently ex- 

 perienced as plagues of Meadow Mice. 

 The most recent instance in this country 

 occurred in the estuary of the Humber 

 in 1896, and the following extract from 

 the Eastern Morning Neu's of February 

 loth, 1896, gives an excellent idea of its 

 character : — " The Humber Conservancy 

 Commissioners have not yet solved the 

 difficult problem of how to rid Reed's 

 Island of the plague of rats that now 

 infest it. nor are they — the most ready 

 means, the flooding of the island, having 

 failed — likely to do so in a hurry. What 



a few years ago was a splendid pasture 

 land, and sustained thousands of sheep 

 in its fresh verdure, is now the home of 

 myriads of rats. It is burrowed from 

 end to end, and so densely populated is 

 this habitat of the rodent, that it is said 

 that it is almost impossible to put your 

 foot down without standing upon a rat 

 hole. It is only about a year ago that 

 the rats got the upper hand, and the 



X 



* 



-j: 



A DARK SPECIMEN OF THE WATER RAT. 



Melanism is extremely common in the species, and the 



tail not infrequently has a white tip. 



Commissioners of late have been very 

 much exercised as to the eviction of their 

 unwelcome tenants. It was decided to 

 cut openings in the banks which surround 

 the island, and thus let in the Humber 

 waters at spring tide, with a \-iew to 

 drowning master rat and his numerous 

 family. The openings having been made 

 at considerable expense, the water was 

 let in a week ago last night, but not with 

 the result anticipated. As the water 

 advanced the rats fled from their holes in 

 tens and hundreds of thousands, and 

 made for the banks which remained high 

 and dry. The screeching and snarling 

 of the rats as they fought for foothold 



