Part 18 (1/2)

The Intelligence of Rats.

Some remarkable ill.u.s.trations of the intelligence of rats have been recorded from time to time. The following which occurred recently seems to show both thought and reason. A Burley rat found a dead hen in a field, one evening, and departed to inform his brethren of the discovery, when a gentleman, who afterwards reported the incident to the Leeds _Evening Post_--removed the prize, which the speedy return of half-a-dozen rats was too late to secure. The first rat plainly evinced his disappointment, but his friends suspected him of hoaxing them, turned upon him suddenly, and in a few moments he was as dead as the chicken which had disappeared, and was left lying on almost the same spot which it had occupied. Captain Brown tells the following story of the ingenuity of the rat in self-preservation. ”During the great flood of September, the 4th, 1829, when the river Tyne was at its height, a number of people were a.s.sembled on its margin. A swan at last appeared, having a black spot on its plumage, which the spectators were surprised to find, on a nearer approach, was a live rat. It is probable it had been borne from its domicile on some hay rick, and, observing the swan, had made for it as an ark of safety. When the swan reached the land, the rat leapt from its back, and scampered away.”

Saved by a Rat.

Perhaps no better example of the intelligence of the rat could be given than that afforded by the incident quoted by Jesse from Mr. Ferryman.

Mr. Ferryman records that he had an old friend, a clergyman, of retired and studious habits. When sitting in his room one day, he saw an English rat come out of a hole at the bottom of the wainscot; and threw it a piece of bread. In process of time, he so familiarised the animal, that it became perfectly tame, ran about him, was his constant companion, and appeared much attached to him. He was in the habit of reading in bed at night; and was on one occasion awoke by feeling a sharp bite on his cheek, when he discovered the curtains of his bed to be on fire. He made his escape, but his house was burnt down, and he saw no more of his rat.

He was, however, convinced, and remained so for the rest of his life, that his old companion had saved him from being burnt to death, by biting his cheek; and thus making him aware of his danger.

The Mouse.

The mouse is a much more popular animal than the rat, though taking its size and numbers into account it is scarcely less destructive. No one weeps when the rat suffers capital punishment, but many a tear has been shed over a ”dear little mouse”. The house mouse is too well known to need description. Like rats, mice appear to act in companies, either under leaders.h.i.+p or by common consent. Mrs. Bowdich describes a number of mice which she observed during an illness frequently emerge from her bed-room closet and gravely form themselves into a circle and apparently hold a council. That they frequently combine to effect purposes which they are unable to accomplish singly is well known. Mrs. Bowdich describes an attempt made by a combined force of mice to get possession of the dainties provided for her as she approached convalescence. These were placed under tin covers upon a chest of drawers, and the mice were evidently of opinion that if they could only climb to the top of these covers they would find them open like a basin, and so effect an entry.

Unable to gain a footing on the smooth metal sides, ”they mounted upon each other's shoulders and so accomplished the feat”, though like arctic explorers they failed to find an open sea and were compelled to return with disappointment. An organised attempt to remove a cover from the bottom, when, on one occasion, it had not been firmly set down, resulted in an accident similar to those incident to human engineering, for the cover slipped and many tiny hands were severely pinched. After this they abandoned their attempts though a single mouse would occasionally reconnoitre the scene, apparently unsatisfied with the defeat. Mice, like many other animals, are said to be much affected by music.

The Harvest Mouse.

The harvest mouse is a most interesting little creature; whose habits are thus described by White of Selborne:--”They build their nest amidst the straws of the corn above the ground, and sometimes in thistles. They breed as many as eight at a litter, in a little round nest composed of the blades of gra.s.s or wheat. One of these I procured this autumn, most artificially plaited, and composed of the blades of wheat, perfectly round, and about the size of a cricket ball, with the aperture so ingeniously closed that there is no discovering to what part it belonged. It was so compact and well filled that it would roll across the table without being discomposed, though it contained eight little mice that were naked and blind. As this nest was perfectly full, how could the dam come at her litter respectively so as to administer a teat to each? Perhaps she opens different places for that purpose, adjusting them again when the business is over; but she could not possibly be contained, herself, in the ball with her young, which moreover would be daily increasing in bulk. This procreant cradle--an elegant instance of the efforts of instinct--was found in a wheat field, suspended in the head of a thistle.”

The Field Mouse.

There are two kinds of field mice, the long-tailed and the short-tailed varieties. The long-tailed field mouse is the mouse immortalised by Burns, and is found throughout Europe. The short-tailed variety occupies much the same geographical area, though it probably extends further. The latter are very destructive, and have sometimes increased to such an extent, that organised efforts have had to be made to exterminate it.

The Dormouse.

The common dormouse, and the greater dormouse are the princ.i.p.al varieties of this interesting little animal. They resemble the squirrel in appearance as well as in some of their habits. They live in trees, where they construct nests, on nuts, acorns, fruits, insects, birds and eggs, and squirrel-like rest upon their hindquarters when eating, holding their food between their forepaws. They lay up store for the winter and become torpid in the cold weather, rolling themselves into a ball, in which condition they may be handled without disturbance or injury. The common dormouse is found all over Europe, the greater dormouse occupying a still more extended area.

The Jerboa.

The Jerboa is a curious, little animal with the body of a mouse and hind legs which resemble those of the kangaroo in appearance. There are several varieties, one belonging to Southern Russia, one to the deserts of Egypt, Nubia, Arabia, Barbary and Tartary, and one to North America.

They live in burrows which they construct with great care and industry.

They are naturally timid and make for their holes on the slightest disturbance, leaping kangaroo fas.h.i.+on sometimes as high as five feet, and so swiftly as to be very difficult of capture. They have very long tails.

The Beaver.

There are two species of the beaver, the European beaver, and the American beaver. The former is most numerous in Siberia, Tartary, and the Caucasus but is also occasionally found in Central Europe. The American beaver is found throughout North America where it is eagerly hunted for the sake of its fur.

The European Beaver.

The following anonymous paragraph cut from a newspaper, but likely enough quoted from some standard Natural History, perhaps that of Messrs. Ca.s.sell and Co., throws some light upon the present condition of the European beaver.

”There are still some naturalists who a.s.sert that the beaver has ceased to exist in France. This, however, is a mistake; an animal of that species was caught a short time ago in the Herault, and is now being exhibited at Montpelier. Beavers do not live in Europe in large companies or herds as they do in America, but only in solitude, and in this state they haunt secondary rivers, such as the Gard and the Gardon.