Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1903-08-28
THE wooD HArs' INDUSTRY
Constructed House Of Kndllng
Wood and Kept Il IN Repair.


Constructed House Of Klndling
Wood and Kept Il In Repair.
In the natural history coming under
my observation have not seen any
thing concerning the wood rat. 1t
may be that the rodent is too com
mon to attract special attention, but
1 am inclined to believe that. if he
IS widely distributed he Is rarely OBJ
served
About two years ago I became in
terested in a pair of wood rats that
seized upon and possessed themselves
OF my wood house for a habitation.
The house is thirty feet long and one
end Of It used for a work bench re-
pair shop and tool house. The other
end is used mainly for storing dry
kindling wood and small stove wood.
The rats moved I'm when was away
for period, and the pair found a
good supply Of dry pine sticks a foot
to sixteen inches in length split from
inch boards These were of various.
widths from one to FIVE inches. and
there were a number of heavy sticks
Of scantling in a corner. With nota
Bile industry the rats had piled the
small sticks into airy regular nvra-
mid, using the be1vy pieces they
could not move COR foundation and
frame, adapting r. 3'r architecture to
the conditions of tie location with re
markably inEenu ty
Their architecture fttod in with the
landscape in the voodhouse so well
that It was some time before l noticed
that the kirdling wood was method
cally placed As wet weather came
and the kindling was needed, fire.
quently took an arnful into the house
without realizing that ! was taking
gargoyles and cornices from a private
residence.
In removing the sticks often
pulled down a quantity of the pile in
selecting. After doing this for some
days I began to notice that each
morning the pyramid was reformed,
the scattered sticks collected and
placed methodically. As the wood
was used the pyramid grew smaller
and smaller, but each morning all the
scattered sticks except some that be-
came wedged and fastened in the
larger and heavier wood, would he
found replaced upon the apex of the
diminishing pile. When the wood had
been about half removed l began to
get occasional gllmpses of the rats.
When | removed sticks they lodged
in and out of the pile, as though they
would defend their castle to the ex-
tent of their power.
The wood was never entirely re-
moved, and that which remained was
kept in a fairly shaped pyramid until
it was not more than three feet in
diameter. The rats, of which 1 had
never seen more than two, became so
tame that they would remain in sight
on the sills near their house within
an arms length of me at times. Lat
er in the season the mistress of the
pyramid appeared with two young
ones.
l now began to miss some of my
portable property. Files, small chisels.
nails, measuring sticks, patterns.
pieces of leather and such articles
would disappear from my work bench.
These from time to time would find
mixed in with the sticks in the build
Ing material used by the rats. Since.
| am informed this is one of the
traits of the animal. They are so ex-
cessively industrious that they annex
almost anything they can carry or
drag with very Indifferent ideas of
property rights or ownership. They
are partial to bright and glittering
things. such as bits of grass, tin and
metal. They would doubtless acquire
and hoard money with almost trust
like perspicuity and acumen if they
were not so much addicted to twigs
and kindling wood.-Forest and
Stream.