148 EXPERIENCES OF SPORT. 



thirteen to fifteen young ones in them. They 

 had regularly honeycombed the ground under- 

 neath, and on turning it up we found hundreds 

 of walnuts collected in them. There were a 

 great many walnut trees about; and these 

 animals, like the squirrel, had no doubt been 

 laying up a winter provision. 



It is believed in the part of Surrey from which 

 I come that a rat, when he takes an egg, will 

 lie on his back and grasp it firmly between his 

 legs, and then allow himself to be rolled or 

 pulled along by the tail. This savours rather of 

 an American yarn. I should like to see the 

 operation, which I honestly confess I do not 

 put faith in, but the rat has doubtless some 

 curious way of carrying off an egg in the clean 

 way he does. 



The old black rat is seldom seen now, being 

 driven away or destroyed by the larger and 

 more ferocious common brown Norwegian rat. 

 These latter are a nuisance in the poultry yard, 

 and will pretty soon thin down your young 

 chickens and ducks. They are very fond of 

 young rabbits. A friend of mine, some time 

 back, had an island of about one hundred acres ; 



