Notes on the Hawaiian Rat. 21 



LATER NOTES. 



Dr. Stone has identified the Wailuku temple rats as the same 

 as the others. 



On February 4, 1917, I met a native at Kailua who said that 

 his grandfather claimed to have accidentally introduced the rats 

 to Popoia, where, according to the statement, there were none be- 

 fore. The account is that the rats were transported from Kailua 

 beach in the folds of a fish-net, and escaped when the net was 

 spread out on Popoia. The claim that such an introduction took 

 place is reasonable, and I am glad to be able to mention it in 

 these notes. It would suggest the advisability of examining the 

 sand-dunes before the shore islets when looking for the native 

 rat. The introduction occurred "more than twenty years ago," 

 which might mean, on account of the Hawaiiaus' difficulty in 

 recalling dates, any time previous to such limit. At the present 

 time introduced rats and mice are plentiful about the houses at 

 Kailua beach. 



Two Hawaiian rats were seen on Popoia on February 4, one 

 in the open, and one among the milo trees; and on February 11 

 a young male was trapped at the latter place. It was active and 

 seemed healthy, but died on March 1 . 



On February 25 and March 4, Dr. C. Montague Cooke found 

 man}- native rat bones on undulating sand-plains and low dunes 

 near the northern point of Oahu. They were in beds of fossil 

 shells, which had been disturbed by road grading. The shell de- 

 posits are probably much older than the Heleloa dunes. 



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