﻿518 
  :Mr. 
  W. 
  ^y. 
  Smith 
  07i 
  New-Zealand 
  Birds. 
  

  

  of 
  Nature." 
  The 
  loss 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  affected 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  some 
  

   general 
  cause, 
  and 
  with 
  the 
  able 
  author 
  of 
  the 
  ' 
  Birds 
  of 
  New 
  

   Zealand' 
  I 
  implicitly 
  agree 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  attributable 
  to 
  the 
  ravages 
  

   of 
  rats. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  Norway 
  rat 
  was 
  intro- 
  

   duced 
  into 
  New 
  Zealand 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  days 
  of 
  colonization, 
  

   perhaps 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  earlier 
  days 
  of 
  the 
  visits 
  of 
  wbalei's 
  to 
  the 
  

   South 
  Seas, 
  and 
  that, 
  there 
  being 
  no 
  indigenous 
  Mustelidse 
  or 
  

   other 
  natural 
  enemies, 
  excepting 
  the 
  native 
  hawks, 
  they 
  multi- 
  

   plied 
  in 
  our 
  genial 
  climate 
  at 
  an 
  astounding 
  rate. 
  Precisely 
  

   the 
  same 
  thing 
  is 
  happening 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  in 
  the 
  districts 
  

   where 
  the 
  introduced 
  stoats 
  and 
  weasels 
  have 
  been 
  liberated 
  

   to 
  wage 
  war 
  against 
  the 
  rabbits. 
  They 
  first 
  turn 
  their 
  attention 
  

   to, 
  and 
  appease 
  their 
  voracious 
  appetites 
  on, 
  the 
  easily 
  captured 
  

   native 
  birds. 
  A 
  writer 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  New-Zealand 
  Journal 
  of 
  

   Science' 
  recently 
  stated 
  that 
  a 
  certain 
  district 
  in 
  Southern 
  

   Westlaud 
  was 
  now 
  cleared 
  of 
  the 
  interesting 
  native 
  birds 
  by 
  

   these 
  bloodthirsty 
  little 
  mammals. 
  Alas 
  for 
  the 
  wisdom 
  of 
  

   the 
  Colonial 
  Legislature 
  in 
  introducing 
  these 
  fell 
  destroyers 
  

   into 
  the 
  beautiful 
  Islands 
  ! 
  

  

  A 
  few 
  instances 
  showing 
  the 
  numbers 
  and 
  distribution 
  

   of 
  rats 
  in 
  New 
  Zealand 
  may 
  be 
  of 
  interest. 
  About 
  twenty- 
  

   five 
  years 
  ago, 
  when 
  Peel 
  Forest 
  was 
  first 
  opened 
  for 
  timber- 
  

   cutting, 
  several 
  of 
  the 
  bushmen 
  afterwards 
  informed 
  me 
  that 
  

   wherever 
  they 
  pitched 
  their 
  tents 
  or 
  huts 
  their 
  stores 
  were 
  

   attacked 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  by 
  rats. 
  Mr. 
  Eugene 
  Lorgerie, 
  an 
  

   old 
  resident 
  in 
  the 
  forest, 
  once 
  informed 
  me 
  that 
  he 
  Lad 
  shot 
  

   a 
  large 
  rat 
  while 
  in 
  the 
  act 
  of 
  running 
  along 
  a 
  high 
  limb 
  of 
  

   a 
  totara 
  tree. 
  But 
  the 
  most 
  remarkable 
  fact 
  about 
  the 
  

   occurrence 
  of 
  rats 
  in 
  remote 
  places 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  days 
  was 
  

   illustrated 
  during 
  the 
  gold 
  fever 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  coast. 
  Amid 
  great 
  

   hai'dships 
  the 
  diggers 
  penetrated 
  into 
  unknown 
  regions 
  in 
  

   that 
  great 
  forest 
  country 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  the 
  precious 
  metal 
  ; 
  

   no 
  matter 
  where 
  the 
  hardy 
  fellows 
  went, 
  up 
  lonely 
  rivers 
  or 
  

   wooded 
  mountain 
  spurs, 
  they 
  found 
  themselves 
  invariably 
  

   preceded 
  by 
  the 
  ubiquitous 
  rat, 
  and 
  the 
  greatest 
  precaution 
  

   had 
  to 
  be 
  taken 
  to 
  preserve 
  their 
  scanty 
  supplies 
  of 
  food 
  from 
  

   the 
  attacks 
  of 
  these 
  animals. 
  Eats 
  are 
  common 
  everywhere 
  

   in 
  the 
  ^Ycstland 
  bush 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time, 
  and 
  are 
  unpleasantly 
  

  

  