446 VERTEBRATA. 



'Shot and missed my mark, 

 And shot the old sow right bang through the heart.' 



But I had nearly performed a similar sportsman-like feat. There was poor piggy, the blood flow- 

 ing in streamlets from several small punctures in that part of his body destined, at no very dis- 

 tant period, to become ham, in vain attempting, by dismal cries and by energetic wagginga of his 

 curly tail, to appease the pain of the charge of small shot which had so unceremoniously awaked 

 him from his porcine dreams of oatmeal and boiled potatoes. But where was the rat? lie had dis- 

 appeared unhurt ; the buttocks of the unfortunate pig, the rightful owner of the premises, had 

 received the charge of shot intended to destroy the daring intruder. 



"To appease piggy's wrath, I gave him a bucketful of food from the hog-tub; and, while he 

 was thus consoling his inward self, wiped off the blood from the wounded parts, and said nothing 

 about it to any; no doubt, before this time, some frugal housewife has been puzzled and aston- 

 ished at the unwonted appearance of a charge of small shot in the center of the breakfast ham, 

 which she procured from Squire Morland, of Sheepstead, Berks. 



"The frequenters of the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park, may, if the room be quite quiet, 

 and the sun warm, observe numerous rats in the den of the rhinoceros. I have frequently watched 

 them playing about, and running backward and forward over his thick armor-like hide, as he 

 lies basking in the pleasant sunshine. He evidently thinks them quite beneath his notice, for he 

 makes no efforts to drive them away, beyond occasionally flapping his great ear wdien they tickle 

 him in any tender part. They come to the rhinoceros's house for the same purpose that they go 

 to the pig-sty, viz., to get what they can from the leavings of their superiors. The keeper informs 

 me that he not unfrequently finds dead rats crushed quite fiat in the straw under the place where 

 the rhinoceros has been sleeping. The poor rat has but a small chance of escape when the huge 

 carcass of the great beast comes plump down upon him, and settles itself there for a good long 

 sleep. Rats, too, are also found killed in the same manner in the straw bed of the elephant. 

 These rats probably come out of the straw thatch which covers the building where the rhinoceros 

 and elephant live; they are common also in the deer-house, where they come for the oats, of 

 which they are particularly fond. 



"If any person wishes to keep rats alive a long time in a cage, let him give them plenty of oats 

 and plenty of water, for the absence of water will kill them in a very few hours. A fine full-grown 

 rat was brought to me; it appeared in perfect health and vigor, and when I went near it, it ran 

 about the cage uttering its peculiar cry of alarm, and fixing itself in an attitude of defense up in 

 one corner of the cage. I introduced a spoonful of water to it, and in a moment it seemed to for- 

 get its ferocity, for it came up hesitatingly at first, and tasted the water; gaining courage, it soon 

 took hold of the spoon with its fore-paws to steady it, and greedily drank up all the water. I gave 

 it two or three spoonfuls more, and then some wet bread ; the next day it had again some wet 

 bread, but not any water. On looking at it the next morning 1 found my poor rat in the agonies 

 of death. I took it out of its cage and poured some brandy down its throat, at the same time 

 putting its hind-feet in hot water, but in vain ; it died in my hand. I could find no internal cause 

 for its death; but on consulting a rat-catcher he informed me that it died for want of water with- 

 out a doubt. I must therefore confess that I unwittingly was the cause of its dying, and for the 

 future I shall know better how to act toward captive rats. One great reason why they are so 

 abundant at the Zoological Gardens is, that they have free access to w T ater from the banks of the 

 Regent's canal, as well as plenty of food, which they purloin from the animals. In the deserts of 

 Africa there are numerous colonies of rats and mice of different kinds; now how do the>e little 

 beasts live during the droughts without water? The all-wise and ever kind Creator has provided 

 for their wants. An African traveler, Campbell, writes — 'I was surprised how so many mice 

 could have lived without water, till I observed them rolling berries from succulent plants into their 

 holes. On examining one of the largest of these berries I found it contained about three tea- 

 spoonfuls of water. This is a provision God has made to supply the wants of these little animals.' 

 Man, too — the poor Bushman — is supplied with water from a similar source, for he finds growing 

 in arid and dry places natural water reservoirs in the shape of 'melons, which being roasted yield t 

 L r ood water. 1 



