SperMiig Time: 10 Minutes, 



AirJOUl'TCaiENT; And now for another visit with Uncle Sain»s Naturalists, of the 

 United Str.tes Depcsrtment of Agricultore, Today we go into the wilds r^rin. 

 Tliis tine our naturolist tells us a little about some of those hii^ily interesting 

 inhabitants of the wilds, our native American rats and mice, 



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The moment anybDdy mentions rats and nice, most of us think about those 

 filthy, thieving scavengers, the brown wharf rats, and those damaging nuisances, 

 tho house nice. 



Yet those ubiquitous brown rats and house mice Qf our towns and cities 

 are not American rats and mice at all. 



Those comiaon rats and mice that cause such an enormous loss by destroying 

 gr'^in ajid food and other stores, and by ca.using fires, and by spreading disease 

 are old world rats and nice. They come over from Europe in colonial days. In 

 fact, naturalists tell us, the common broTO ra.t was unknown in this country until 

 about 1775, The brown rat first invaded our wharfs daring the American Revolution, 



Some of you householders may sigh for the good old days before that time- 

 Bat wait a minute — — 



Mr, Vernon Bailey, of the United States Biological Survey, has found evi- 

 dence that the pre-historic cliff-dwellers of northwestern New Mexico, southeastern 

 Utah, and northioastcm Arizona, had their rat- troubles too. 



Camping in the ruins of the ancient Pueblo Bonito in Clia^o Canyon, Mr, 

 Bailey has been over-run by bushy-tailed wood ra.ts» He has discovered traxes 

 thr.t lead hin to think that those native Americaji rats were probably serious pests 

 to the food-storing Indians who lived there long before Columbus discovered 

 Aneri cr.. 



Those bushy-toiled wood rats are just one Idnd of na.tlve Aiaevicoja rats. 

 As many of you campers know, there are a number of kinds of American rats and mice. 

 You find different Icinds in the cliffs, high up the slopes of the nwimtain forests, 

 along the cool streams, in the valleys, out on the wide prairies, even in the 

 desert. 



But get this. Mr, Bailey says cnxr American rats are very different from 

 our co: .on house rats the brown, black or roof rats, American wood ra.ts look 

 more like Old World rats, than t hey act like thean. In fact, wood rats are cleanly 

 animals, and lead clean, wholesome lives. With many tribes of Indians, wood rats 

 are popular game animals, and Mr. Bailey, who has tasted test of the different 

 kinds, soya they arc very good eating, tender and first-rate flavor. He points 



