300 THE GHAY RAT. 



The dog was unused to dealing with such for- 

 midable quarry, and when the rat was poked out of 

 the tree it made its teeth meet in the terrier's nose, 

 and there followed a rough-and-tumble encounter 

 which at first promised the defeat of the terrier. 

 Human interference, however, decided the fate of 

 Mus decumanus. 



The rat's stronghold was then examined, and 

 proved a source of great interest. The floor of the 

 chicken-coop was insulated from the ground in 

 the usual way by intermediate struts, and within 

 the space thus provided between the floor and the 

 ground the rat had made its summer home. Into 

 the cranny it had dragged a vast quantity of leaves 

 and dry grass, but the most interesting point was 

 that the brute had cunningly closed all spaces that 

 might admit draught (save for the one hole it used) 

 with small sticks and bits of rushes. Near to the 

 hole by which it came and went was an accumu- 

 lation of loose leaves, which probably formed a 

 virtually self-closing and draught-excluding door. 



The nest was located in the most sheltered 

 corner, and near to it was the beast's larder. A 

 more disgusting sight than the latter I never saw. 

 It consisted of the entrails of a rabbit, the skin of a 

 pike, and other oddments of filth and house-refuse 

 in an advanced state of decomposition, and a 

 swarming mass of burying beetles. The stink was 

 positively unbearable ; yet there was every possi- 

 bility that this loathsome beast, sleeping within 

 touch of this foul mass of carrion, had on occasions 

 entered the dairy of the house where our own food 

 was stored ! This is what is happening daily all 

 over the country, and still we find the majority of 

 people quite indifferent as to whether rats thrive 

 or are exterminated ! 



