The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-08-03
SOME HING ABOUT RATS.
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CONTINUED from page one.)
near the coast. in the southern parts
of the United States
The biological survey has spec1-
mems of the roof rat from North
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, Texas, Arizona and Cal
ifornia. In the last-named state 1t
is abundant In the Sacramento Val
ley. It is known also from Dismal
Swamp, Virginia, and from Cuba, the
Bermudas, Trinidad, San Domingo,
Costa RIGA, Nicaragua, Mexico, and
Hawaii. Also it inhabits many parts
| OF South America, where IN places
it is the dominant species.
| The most destructive OF the rat
family is the brown rat On. norVe-
gicus). In most parts of the United
States it is the common rat about
houses and barns in the country and
about markets, Wharves and ware
houses in cities. It is larger and
more robust than either the black or
| the roof rat, and differs from both
in habits. It is more of turnover,
and lives in excavations Which II
makes under buildings and IN loose
soil along hedges and river banks.
This habit, combined with its greater
strength and ferocity, has enabled
it to supplant the other species in
temperate ATTITUDES; but in the
warmer parts of America and the
Old World it has not been able to
drive out the others. The house
mouse everywhere holds it's own
against the brown rat by its ability
to escape into retreats too small for
the rat to follow
The brown rat inhabits most OF the
thickly populated parts of America.
North Of Panama it occurs generally
except in the arid interior, from the
Isthmus to the Yukon Valley and
southern Greenland. In the Great
Basin it is practically unknown, and
in New Mexico and Arizona it is
confined chiefly to towns along the
railroads. The biological survey is
without records of its presence IN
Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, and the
greater part Of Montana. The rea-
son for it's absence in that region
is not understood, but it's ability to
Withstand extreme cold is proved by
| the fact that it flourished in latitude
| Is degrees g. minutes north on board
Doctor Kane's ship Advance, in the
second GrinneIl expedition, during
the two winters when that vessel
was icebound. 1T has also adapted
itself to the continuous low tempera-
lures of cold-storage warehouses, in
which it appears to breed freely.
History Of the Brown Rat.
We know little of the history OF
this species. Greek and Roman
writer's make no mention of rats OF
any kind, but possibly knew the ami
mails and included them in the fre-
quent reference to mice. Pallas, in
11778, described the brown rat under
the name Mus decumanus, and this
was generally used until it was found
I that Erxleben had called it Ne. nor.
vegieus in TIT. Previously the com
mon name Norway rat had often
4 been used for this species
The brown rat is generally sup
posed to be of Asiatic origin. Vari
GUS modern writer's have asserted
that it came originally from Persia
or India; but w. T. Blanford states
that the species is at present IN
known in Persia, and that in India
the black rat is the generally distrib
uted species, while the brown IA
occurs only along the coast and The
nayigab1e rivers. This implies tina
1 the latter species is comparatively
recent immigrant into India.
AS regards the arrival of the
brown rat in Europe, two facts arf
known. The species reached Eng
land from some eastern port abou
1928 or. 1923, and according to Pal
las, a little earlier, 1927, crossed thu
Russian frontier from Asia and sool
country. This statement, taken il
connection with that of Blanford
makes it highly probable that be
fore this migration the Asiatic hom
Of the species was north, rather thai
south, of the high mountains Q
northern India. This view, which
has been adopted by several natu
Iralists, is further strengthened b,
the fact that the animal fIourishe
better in temperate than in tropica
climates.
, Possibly earlier and unrecorde
westward migrations Of the brow
;. rat took place. A few years ag
Professor Waile, the archaeologisi
while making excavations at Chez
cheIl on the coast of Algeria, du
up the skull Of a rat, which h
stated was contemporary with tn
) Roman occupation of the country uI
I der the Caesars. The skull had bu
one molar, much worn, but the GRAZ
! ial bones were intact, and Frenc
: biologists pronounced the remain
as undoubtedly those of the s'surmu
lot" or brown rat. This shows tia
We have little more than conjecture
for the early history Of this species
The brown rat is said to have frs
appeared in Paris in 175o It wa
!, brought to the United States, prof
ably from England, about the begin
ming of the Revolution, 1175. A.
: cording to Audubon, it was unknoW
: on the Pacific coast of the Unite