The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-01-15
RATS AND THEIR WAYS.
LITTLE BEASTS THAT ARE uNPLEAS-
ANT, BUT WORTH STUDYING.


Clothes OF Their skins 81 Teaching
Them Tricks-Raes as an Article Of
Diet-Trumpet Rata Inventsd BY Zon-
ayes.
A rats tail is wonderful thing. Tho
great naturalist, Cuvier. says that there
are more muscles in this curious append
nge than are to be found In that part of the
human anatomy which is most admired
for its ingenious structure-namely, the
hand. To the rat, in fact, its tail serves
as a sort Of hand, by means of which the
animal is enabled to crawl along narrow
lodges or other difficult passages, using
it to balance with or to gain hold. Il
is prehensile, like the tails of some mon
keys. By means of it the little beast can
jump up heights otherwise inaccessible,
employing it as projectile spring.
1t has often been said that the glove.
makers of Paris make use in their trade
Of the skins of rats which are caught in
the sewers, but this is denied.
A thrifty Welshman at one time ex-
llibited himself publicly in England at
tired in costume composed from top to
toe Of ratskins.
DR.. Buckland says that many of the
elephants tusks brought to London for
the use of workers in ivory are observed
to have their surfaces grooved into small
burrows. This is done by rats, which are
fond of the gelatine or animal glue in
the substance. The ivory cutter selects
for his purposes by preference those tusks
which have been gnawed in this way, be.
cause they contain the most gelatine and
are the best in material.
How many people have ever eaten
jelly made from elephants, tusks? Yet
it is very good indeed. Years ago ivory
jelly was a very fashionable remedy and
much sought after.
Rats are remarkably intelligent ami.
mals, as may be perceived from the diff.
Guilty that is experienced in catching
them. They can be taught many tricks.
Among other things tits possible to mako
them learn how to beg, to jump through
hoop, to drag a little cart in harness,
and to carry sticks or money.
Rats have never found favor Is del
icacy for the table in Europe or in this
country, but in many lands they are rel
ished as an article OF diet The negro
slaves of Jamaica used to regard them as
dainty, their masters not providing
them with any other meat. Rats may
commonly be seen for sale in the markets
of any Chinese town. split and pressed
under heavy weight. 20 as 70 look
somewhat like dried fish. In this shape
the pigtailed oriental buys them, soaks
them in water, and then boils, roasts, or
fries them.
When the French zouaves were first in
Africa new sort Of rat made its appear.
ance there. It was called the trumpet
rat, " having long proboscis. The sale
of specimen by one Of the soldiers to an
enthusiastic naturalist gave rise to an
action at law. Said the plaintiff in
court:
This zouave has cheated me out Of
100 francs. He knows that am much
interested in natural sciences. One day
he called upon me and said: Sir, !
have'a kind Of animal which has never
been mentioned by any naturalist It is
trumpet rat, and has q trunk like an
elephants. II you wish to see 1t, you
have only to come to my house,
Il was very anxious to behold this
strange animal. We arrived at his house,
and he showed me in cage an enor.
NOUS rat. very lively and in good con.
dition, which really had ON its nose .
slender excrescence more than an inch In
length. The excrescence was covered
with hair like the body OF the animal,
with vertebr@ in it, and "a most sxtraor-
dinary thing) larger at the summit than
at the base-the contrary to what 1t
ought to be in the usual course of things.
To convince myself that it was not
dupe and q raystification / stuck pin
into the trumpet. The animal cried out
and drop of blood came from the prick.
The experiment was conclusive. II was
really q trumpet forming part Of the rat.
i was amazed I paid him 80 francs
for it My friends and servants all ad.
mired it, and ] was enchanted. Myrat
was male. Some one said TO me that ]
ought to procure female. I asked the
zouave if he could procure for me a fe.
male, and he said he had two. / bought
one Of them for 80 0franca Some months
afterward the female had young
looked at them and they had no trumpets.
] said to myself, They win sprout'
waited one month, two months, six
months; but the trumpets never appeared.
I'm house where / 60 frequently l.
made the acquaintance Of an officer who
had served long time in Africa. told
him about my trumpet rats, and he
laughed as though his sides would split
He told me that the trumpet rat was not
o freak Of nature, but an invention due
to the leisure moments Of the zouaves.
This is how they make them: You take
two rats and fasten their paws firmly to
to board, the nose Of one close to the
end Of the tail Of the other. Then with
a penknife you make an incision into
the nose of the rat and you graft the tail
of the first into the nose; you tie firmly
the muzzle to the tail, and you leave the
two rats in this position 48 hours. At
the end OF that time the union has taken
place and the two parts are grown to.
gether; then you cut of the tail OF the
rat to the required length and let him 60,
but still keep the other fastened to the
board, with his head loose, and you give
him something TO eat. At the end Of
fortnight the wound Il perfectly healed.
This Is the way the zouaves make rats
with trumpets
On the part of the defendant It was
urged that he had certainly made up the
rats as stated, but he affirmed that he had
not sold them to the plaintiff as having
been ~born with trumpets. Verdict for