Fres., 1912. Mammats or ILLinors AND Wisconsin — Cory. 181 
hygienic point of view. The spread of the Bubonic Plague has been 
proved to be due to them* and it can readily be understood how they 
could easily become a source of contagion for other diseases as well. 
To those who suffer from their depredations a publication of the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture entitled ‘How to destroy Rats,’ by D. E. 
Lantz, (Farmers’ Bulletin, No. 369, 1909) is recommended. In writing 
of this species Dr. C. Hart Merriam says,} ‘‘He is not content with 
deriving his sustenance at our expense; but to save himself the trouble 
of a walk between meals, takes up his abode in or under our dwellings 
and outhouses. In unsettled regions he often makes long journeys 
from house to house, but I have never known him to make his home at 
any great distance from buildings. 
“Rats are good swimmers, and in their migrations from place to 
place (which are usually performed at night and thus escape notice) 
they do not hesitate to swim rivers and ponds that lie in the way. 
Though chiefly nocturnal, they are often seen in the daytime. They 
are exceedingly prolific, commonly bringing forth from seven to twelve 
young at a birth, and having several litters each season. Some idea 
of the number of Rats inhabiting large cities may be had from the fact 
that, at Paris, in a fortnight’s time, more than six hundred thousand were 
killed in the sewers. The skins were manufactured into kid gloves.”’ 
Specimens examined from Illinois and Wisconsin: 
Illinois — Chicago, 2; Fox Lake, 8 (6 in alcohol); (I. S. L.) Havana, 
P= OL. 
Wisconsin — Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., 2; (O.) Lake Geneva, 4=6. 
The following introduced species may occur in Illinois, but I find 
no satisfactory record of either having actually been taken in the state: 
Epimys rattus (Linn.). (Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 61.) Type 
locality —Sweden. A nearly cosmopolitan species introduced in 
North America at an early date. It was formerly common in many 
parts of the United States, but since the advent of the Norway or 
Brown Rat, has become rare except in scattered localities. It has 
been recorded from Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Iowa, and is 
claimed to have occurred in Illinois in early days. It has also been 
accredited to Wisconsin by Lapham and Strong; but its occurrence 
in that state requires further confirmation. 
Epimys alexandrinus (Geoffroy). (Descr. Egypt, II, 1818, p. 733.) 
Type locality—Egypt, Africa. . This species has a much more south- 
* The Rat is very susceptible to the disease and a large number of the Rat fleas 
examined in infected houses contained the Bacillus pestis in their stomachs and 
mouths. 
t Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, pp. 259-60. 
