JOS NATURAL HISTORY. 



a few years they exterminated every other living tiling. Professor Bell, on the authority of 

 the late Mr. Robert Stephenson, relates the following instance of the extreme ferocity of the 

 Rat when driven by hunger : " In a coal-pit," he says, " in which many Horses were employed, 

 the Rats, which fed upon the fodder provided for the Horses, had accumulated in great multitudes. It 

 was customary in holiday times to bring to the surface the Horses and the fodder, and to close the pit 

 for the time. On one occasion, when the holiday had extended to ten days or a fortnight, during which 

 the Rats had been deprived of food, on re-opening the pit, the first man who descended was attacked 

 by the starving multitude, and speedily killed and devoured." Stories are also told, with what truth 

 we do not know, of the occurrence of similar catastrophes in the sewers of Paris and London, where, 

 as is well known, Rats abound. 



The Brown Rat breeds several times during the year, and produces as many as ten, twelve, or 

 fourteen young ones in a litter. Its general length is about nine inches. It may be distinguished 

 from the old English Rat, which it has displaced in most localities, by its greyish-brown colour and 

 by the comparative shortness of its ears, which, when pressed down, do not reach the eye. 



The BLACK RAT (Mus rattus), or old English Rat, as it is sometimes called, agrees closely 

 in its habits with the Brown Rat. It is smaller than the Brown Rat, measuring only about seven 

 inches in length, but has a comparatively much longer tail and larger ears, which, when pressed 

 forward, cover the eyes. Its colour above is greyish or brownish-black, and the lower parts are 

 dark ash colour. Although the Black Rat has generally been compelled to give way before its larger 

 and more vigorous competitor, it is still widely dispersed, but not in such numbers as formerly, in 

 Europe. Its native country was probably Southern Asia. Nearly allied to it, if indeed specifically 

 distinct, is the EGYPTIAN RAT (Mus alexandrinus). Both these Rats are said to keep more to the 

 upper parts of houses than the Brown Rat. 



Although the true Mice are very nearly allied to the Rats, of which they are copies on a small 

 scale (and some of them, at any rate, are as destructive in their way as their larger relatives), they do 

 not excite by any means the same sentiments of disgust with which Rats are generally regarded ; 

 ladies, indeed, will sometimes scream at the mere sight of a Mouse, but most of them will admit that, 

 apart from its predatory habits, it is an elegant little creature. The COMMON MOUSE (Mus musculus) 

 seems to be as completely associated with man as the Rat, and has accompanied him in his wanderings 

 to all parts of the world. It is, however, said not to occur in the Sunda Islands. Of its general 

 appearance and habits we need say nothing ; they are too familiar to need description. But besides 

 haunting our houses, the Mouse takes up its abode in the rick-yard, and here its devastations are often 

 very serious. The Mice live in the ricks, through which they make passages in every direction, and 

 their fecundity is so great that several bushels of Mice are often destroyed during the removal of a 

 single rick. The Mouse breeds all the year round, and usually produces five or six young at a birth, 

 so that its rapid increase under favourable circumstances is easily understood. Several varieties of 

 the species are well known, especially the Albino form, or White Mouse, which is such a favourite pet 

 with boys. The Common Mouse in England is sometimes patched with white, and we sometimes 

 see in the shops Pied Mice, which are said to be of Indian origin. A pale buff variety is also 

 sometimes met with ; and during the removal of a rick some years ago, it was found to be infested 

 by a breed of Mice with a naked wrinkled skin, to which the name of Rhinoceros Mice was given at 

 the time. 



Besides these more or less domestic species, there are in Britain two other representatives of 

 the genus Mus, which do not generally frequent hoiises. One of these is the LONG-TAILED FIELD 

 MOUSE (Mus sylvaticus), sometimes called the Wood Mouse, an exceedingly pretty little creature, 

 rather larger than the Common Mouse, and having a proportionally longer tail. It measures about 

 four inches in length, and the tail is about as long as the body : its colour is yellowish or yellowish- 

 brown on the upper sui*face, whitish beneath ; and the tail is brown above and white beneath. This 

 species is found all over the temperate parts of Europe and Asia, living in the fields and gardens, 

 where it takes up its abode, either in some small cavity under the root of a tree, in the deserted runs 

 of the Mole, or less commonly in a little burrow excavated by its own labour. It feeds chiefly xipon 

 grain and seeds, of which it lays up a considerable store for winter use in its subterranean dwelling, 

 and in this way does considerable damage to the crops. The Field Mouse does not, however, strictly 



