192 BLACK RAT. 



ness, and as soon as buildings were put up the rats deserted the rocks, 

 and established themselves in the shanties, to our great annoyance ; so 

 that one of my assistants amused himself shooting at them as he lay in 

 bed early in the morning. They ate all our shoes, whip-lashes, &,c., 

 &c., and we never got rid of them until we left the place." 



We presume that in this locality there is some favourite food, the seeds 

 of wild plants and grasses, as well as insects, lizards, (Salamandra,) &c., 

 on which these Rats generally feed. We are induced to believe that 

 their range on the Alleghanies is somewhat limited, as we have on 

 various botanical excursions, explored these mountains at different points, 

 to an extent of seven himdred miles, and although we saw them in the 

 houses of the settlers, we never observed any locality where they existed 

 permanently in the woods, as they did according to the above account. 



The habits of this species do not differ very widely from those of the 

 browii or Norway rat. When it obtains possession of premises that re- 

 main unoccupied for a few years, it becomes a nuisance by its rapid 

 multiplication and its voracious habits. We many years ago spent a few 

 days with a Carolina planter, who had not resided at his country seat 

 for nearly a year. On our arrival, we found the house infested by seve- 

 ral hundreds of this species ; they kept up a constant squeaking during 

 the whole night, and the smell from their urine was exceedingly of- 

 fensive. 



The Black Rat, although capable of swimming, seems less fond of fre- 

 quenting the water than the brown rat. It is a more lively, and we 

 think a more active, species than the other ; it runs with rapidity, and 

 makes longer leaps ; when attacked, it shrieks and defends itself with its 

 teeth, but we consider it more helpless and less courageous than the brown 

 or Norway rat. 



It is generally believed that the Black Rat has to a considerable extent 

 been supplanted both in Europe and America by the Norway rat, which 

 it is asserted kills or devours it. We possess no positive facts to prove 

 that this is the case, but it is very probably true. 



We have occasionally found both species existing on the same pre- 

 mises, and have caught them on successive nights in the same traps ; but 

 we have invariably found that where the Norway rat exists in any con- 

 siderable numbers the present species does not long remain. The Nor- 

 way rat is not only a gross feeder, but is bold and successful in its attacks 

 on other animals and birds. We have known it to destroy the domes- 

 ticated rabbit by dozens ; we have seen it dragging a living frog from the 

 banks of a pond ; we were once witnesses to its devouring the young of 

 its own species, and we see no reason why it should not pursue the Black 



