DOMESTIC RATS AND MICE 49 



white; Selective breeding, if persistently applied, un- 

 doubtedly could remedy these faults. 



Only one type of broken-colored rat has been produced 

 as yet. In this variety the head, neck and a stripe down the 

 back are colored, the remainder of the body being white. 

 Rats so marked are known as hooded, or Japanese. 



The hooded character is curiously persistent, and so far 

 all attempts to use it in producing spotted rats have failed. 

 No amount of crossing with white or self colors has resulted 

 in any important change. 



For years the varieties mentioned were the only variants 

 known among rats. In spite of the close resemblance in 

 shade of the wild forms of rat and mouse, the color char- 

 acters of the former do not separate so readily as do those 

 of its smaller relative. 



But about 1912 the rat fancy of England was electrified 

 by the appearance of two new colors — yellow or orange, and 

 cream, of both self and hooded types. These appear to 

 have arisen from two distinct sources, the basis of the new 

 strain being, in each case, a wild-caught rat of yellowish 

 tinge. These wild specimens seem not to have been of the 

 pure color of their descendants, but after a few generations 

 the shades were much improved. 



Self yellows and creams both are handsome varieties, 

 but the hooded forms are really most attractive. A rich- 

 colored, well-marked yellow hooded rat will prove a revela- 

 tion to any^ one who doubts that beauty can exist in the 

 genus Mtis. 



