THE BLACK RAT. 
9 
" Since Louis Philippe left the Tuileries the place has 
been uninhabited ; for a vast multitude of black and brown 
rats have established an immense colony in the cellars of the 
once royal castle. Some old shoes, old hats, and some 
sacks of potatoes, which had been left there, have, up to 
the present time (1851), amply served them for pro- 
visions ; and as there is a direct communication between 
the cellars and the river Seine, they had everything they 
required to lead a very joyous life. Recently, however, they 
have been making excursions into the houses of the Rue de 
Rivoli, and the inhabitants having made a complaint to the 
Prefect of the Seine, orders were given to the person charged 
with the destruction of the vermin to organize a razzia 
against those intruders. It is said that, on entering the 
cellars, he found a complete mass of these black and brown 
rats, which formerly were said to be mortal enemies, 
but now are living on fraternal terms ; and, in conse- 
quence of crossing the breeds, many of them were dark on 
the backs, with white bellies and tails. The skins of this 
race are considered valuable. The night before last the 
ratcatcher of the capital commenced setting his traps, and 
on the following morning he had caught 847 rats. Accord- 
ing to custom, their tails were cut off, and sent to the Hotel de 
Ville, in order to support the claim for the usual reward." 
This, I think, is tolerably clear evidence. And now let 
us return to our worthy friend Mr. Waterton, and the 
gentlemen of the Philosophical Institution, who say that the 
brown rat has worried nearly every individual of the original 
black rat of Great Britain. This, I fear, is Mr. Waterton''s 
second mistake, since their diminution may be attributed to 
more natural causes. The black rat is one-third less than 
the brown rat, consequently much weaker. The result is, 
that in the breedinor seasons the stronger male rats beat off 
the weaker, and run away with the black ladies, who in due 
time have a family of half-bred young ones. When these 
have become matured, they breed in again with the brown 
rats ; their young become much lighter, and so on for a few 
generations, and the entire breed will become confirmed 
brown rats ; while the old black rats, having lived as long 
as nature will allow them, cease to exist, and the race 
becomes extinct. 
