ZOOLOGY, 
135 
tion, must have been closely allied to tlie beaver (castor). In-' 
deed one person, who had often been at the Roto-iti, assured me 
tbai, the existence of such an animal there was certain; but, 
although I searched very closely, I was unable to detect any indi¬ 
cations either of its tracks or dams, or indeed any other signs of 
its existence. One circumstance, however, leads me to believe 
that the lake is inhabited by an animal not yet known. One 
night we had fastened the results of our fishing, consisting, per¬ 
haps, of twenty pounds of eels, to a fishing line, and laid them in 
tue water near the margin of the lake, in order to keep them 
fresh. One of my men suddenly heard a great splash, and, run¬ 
ning down to the water, found that the eels had been dragged out, 
and that but lor the fact that the line was fastened round a large 
stone, they would have been carried off altogether. I am unable 
to say whether a very large eel might not be strong enough to 
have done this ; but, if not, we must suppose that there exists in 
the lake another fish or animal of which we as yet know nothing. 
It cannot, however, belong to the family castor, which feed only 
on bark; but it may probably be another member of the order 
Rodentia. I relate this circumstance in order to draw attention 
to the subject. 
The native rat (Mus rattus) is the only known indigenous land 
quadruped; but although it is said that in some places it still 
exists in large numbers, I was unable to find any. Its place has 
been taken by the English rat, by which it has been nearly 
extirpated. Living principally on berries, it was formerly highly 
prized by the natives as food. It has become a common saying 
among the Maories, that as the English rat (kiore Pakeha) has 
destroyed the native rat, so in time will the Maori vanish before 
the white man. These English rats are to be met with every¬ 
where. They seldom find the traveller during the first night, but 
if he remain any longer in the same place, these unwelcome 
guests at once make their appearance, and disturb his rest. 
Generally speaking, nothing is safe from them. They are re¬ 
markably fond of bacon: it is singular enough that they, do not 
touch flour, contenting themselves merely with destroying the 
bags in which it is contained. They tried shot, in which the 
marks of their teeth were found. Some of them grow to a size 
far beyond anything I ever saw in Europe. 
In the open plains dogs are found, but they are not numerous ; 
the tracks we saw indicated that they belonged to a large breed. 
One which I saw at the Mawhera-iti was nothing but a mongrel, 
such as are generally found in the native pahs. The old native 
dog (kuri) seems to be extinct. 
As far as I could observe, no flying animals, except the Scoto- 
philus tuberculatus and Mystacina tuberculata, exist in the 
country traversed by me. 
It is well known to the settlers of the province how abundant 
