The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1866-09-01
Curious Facts about RATS and
Vice.

Perhaps few persons are aware how many kinds
Of mice are 10 Oc found IN the world. or the ex-
tent u the ravages they will commit. Il Is \
curiJus and interesting fact that IN many cases
where mice have increased 20 4 great extent in
corn or grass lands, and IN extensive plantations,
birds and beasts Of prey increase IN proportion TO
feed on them. Mites, hawks, owls, maSpIes,
"a IS, and crows. as well a. stoats, weaSelS, foxes.
ct. may there be found in great abundance, as
sc ubled 70 feed on these destructive little quad
rupeds, perhaps in localities where few OF them
had seldom been met with previously, 50 accu-
rately does nature provide against what might
otherwise be q serious evil. Mice viii produce
firm TX 10 eight young ones At L time, and breed
several times in the course of the year. - that
th-lr Increase must be very great, were II hot Tor
thar numerous enemies.
The mouse : exceedingly attached 10 her young
ones. \ lady OF our acquaintance on removing
q box in a room very seldom used, found a mOuse's
nest behind it. The female mouse on being dis
covered, sat upright ca the nest, and began 70
scream in 4 very loud and alarmed manner. eyl-
IDENTIFY apprehensive for the safety of her young
ones. My informant was 50 surprised at this
occurrence, that she Went to call her father TO
witness it. On her return with him. after 4 very
short absence, 1t was found that the parent mouse
had removed all her young ones away, and they
were afterwards discovered under Il chest of
drawers in the same room. but on the opposite
side To that in which the nest was first discovered,
50 rapid had been her proceedings. and so great
her alarm for the safety Of her young.
4 CAT NURSES A MOUSE.
II is very difficult TO account either for the dis
positions OF the proceedings of some animals.
One would think that Il cat would on all occa-
siOns in her power kill a mouse, especially when
she had her kittens TO feed but this has not
always been the case. An eminent surgeon. and
an excellent man, whose veracity may be strictly
relied on, on visiting a prison in one of the Mid
land Counties, came into a room accompanied by
an arrAnlanr IN which hn = a ~ a cat NIInElInr rv-.
or three kittens. - If you will stand quiet for a
short time" said the man, "you will see a
strange sight" He did 50 accordingly, when, to
his great establishment, he saw a mouse creep out
of n hole, go 10 the cat and begin sucking her.
The attendant assured him that this was Il con-
slant occurrence, and our informant was SO
struck with ii, that he not only witnessed it him.
self on subsequent occasions, but brought some
of his friends to do So. This curious fact need
not be doubted, although it is difficult to account
for its occurrence.
FECUHDITY OF RATS.
We have two varieties of land rats in this
country and one water rat. OF the former, t e
brown or Norwegian rat has now nearly eXte--
minated the original black rat of England, I e
latter being now regarded almost as a curiosity,
although it is affirmed that it is still TO be met
with in some ot the great brewing establishments
in London. The increase of the brown rat is
enormous. They have three brJods in a year,
generally from ii to Is in a litter. Their in
crease, therefore. would be enormous, did they
not, as is wel-knOwn. devOur each other. Some
times the size of an old male rat is very great. l
remember some years ago paying twopence 10 see
a dead rat. killed in one of the London drains,
vi ich was nearly as big as a mcderate-sized rab-
bit. Ii was grey with age. In the Abbattoir
near Paris, such was the increase Of rats, that
their burrows extended to a considerable space
round the building. and in one night they de-
voured the carcase of a horse.
Some a r. arn rrhau fha irald Of ,ha1S1nfG
was strictly preserved in the Kew Gardens, and
every weasel, stoat, and hawk was destroyed, a
colony Of rats, probably from the adjoining town
of Brentford, established themselves in the gar
dens. Their burrows We're extensive. and had
something Of the appearance of a rabbit warren.
s%truction of pheasants' eggs and of the young
birds, and it was some time before these marau-
ders could be got rid of.
RATS on sHIPBoARD.
1t is astonishing how cunn;ngly and quickly
rats will run along the hawser Of Il ship attached
TO another ship in order to search for more album
dant food than they could procure in the ship
they have just left. This is generally done in the
night. but the migration has been witnessed in
the day time. When rats have deyoured all the
food in n barn. they will migrate in considerable
numbers to another. \ friend of mine, a clergy
man, witnessed one of these migrations, and saw
an old blind rat holding a short bit of stick in
his mouth, and another rat holding the other
end; in this way the blind rat was conducted
safely along. This anecdote may be doubted,
but | have too high an opinion of the veracity of
INV respectable informant to doubt it myself. The
contrivances of rats to procure food are some
times very extraordinary. They have been known
to insert their tails into an oil flask, and then
lick off the adhering oil till the hask was emptied
or, at least. till their tails would reach the oil no
longer. 1t has also been ascerrained that they
have made deposits of eggs in some concealed
place, as a future stock of food; they were con-
veyed without breaking them. although it is diff
cult to guess in what way.-Once a Week.