Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/228

 212 EAT Asia; like the preceding species, it is omniv- orous. The roof or white-bellied rat (M. tec- torum, Savi) is about 6 in. long, and the tail about 8 in. with 240 rings ; it is colored above like the brown rat, the lower parts and up- per surface of feet yellowish white ; the head is rather blunt, the eyes large, whiskers long and black, ears very large, and the thumb rudimentary. It came originally from Egypt and Nubia, thence passed to Italy and Spain, and from the last to America in the 15th cen- tury ; it is common in Mexico and Brazil, and in the southern states, but is rarely found above North Carolina ; it is fond of inhabiting the thatched roofs of houses, whence its name ; it is the same as the M.Alexandrinus (Geoffr.) and M. Americanm (Seba). Some of the East Indian rats are far larger than any of these ; the giant rat of Bengal and the Coromandel coast (M. giganteus, Raffles) has a body 13 in. long and a tail as much more ; this is very destructive in gardens and granaries, devour- ing chickens and ducks, undermining houses, and piercing the mud walls ; it is the largest of the subfamily, a male weighing as much as 3 Ibs. ; it is often eaten by the lower caste Hin- doos. All these rats are very fond of fighting, and with their omnivorous habits are decided- ly murine cannibals, eating not only their con- quered brethren but their young. Though liv- ing in the filthiest places and in the foulest air, they always have a sleek coat, and take the greatest pains to clean themselves, licking the paws in the manner of a cat ; during mastica- tion the jaws move very rapidly ; they drink by lapping ; when asleep the body is coiled in a ball, with the nose between the hind legs, and the tail curled around the outside, leaving only the ears out ready to catch the least sound of danger ; as food fails they migrate in com- panies from one place to another. There are more muscles in a rat's tail than in the human hand ; this most useful appendage, with its chain of movable bones and numerous muscles, is covered with minute scales and short stiff hairs, rendering it prehensile, and capable of being employed as a hand, balancer, or project- ing spring. The teeth are long and sharp, but there is nothing specially dangerous in wounds made by them ; their strength enables them to gnaw ivory, as dealers in this article well know ; in fact, even in Africa, elephants' tusks are found gnawed by rats, squirrels, porcu- pines, and perhaps other rodents, as long as any gelatine is contained in them. They are very subject to tumors of the skin, which often end fatally ; they also perish soon with- out water. These animals have their uses, es- pecially for devouring refuse matters which would otherwise engender disease, as in tropi- cal climates or in large cities, in the sewers of which they live in legions ; their skins are em- ployed for various purposes, as in the manufac- ture of the thumbs of gloves, but are too del- icate for any article requiring much strength. The Chinese and other Asiatic nations, and many African tribes, eat the flesh of rats ; and arctic travellers have often found them a welcome addition to their bill of fare. In the sigmodont tribe of the murina, belonging entirely to the new world, besides the genera Florida Hut (Neotoms Floridana). noticed under MOUSK, may be mentioned neo- toma (Say and Ord) ; in this the fur is soft and full, the form rat-like, the tail long and more or less hairy ; ears very large and near- ly naked ; molars rooted ; heels hairy. It is peculiar to North America, and found in the United States except New England; some of the species are much larger than house rats, and are rather handsome. The Florida or wood rat (N. Floridana, Say and Ord) is about 8 in. and the tail 6 in. long, the short stiff hair of the latter not concealing the scaly rings ; the color above is plumbeous mixed with dark and yellowish brown, lighter on the sides, beneath and the feet white; tail dusky above, white below ; the head is sharp. It is abundant in the southern Atlantic and gulf states, and is found occasionally in the west ; the habits vary much in different local- ities, living in some places in the woods, in others under stones or in the ruins of build- ings; in swampy districts it heaps up mounds, 2 or 3 ft. high, of grasses, leaves, nnd sticks cemented with mud ; sometimes the nest is in the fork or the hollow of a tree. It is cre- puscular, very active and an excellent climber; the food consists of corn, nuts, cacti, crusta- ceans, mollusks, and various roots and fruits ; the disposition is mild and docile ; from three to six young are produced twice a year. Larger species are found west of the Rocky moun- tains, very destructive to the furs, blankets, and stores of the trappers ; for an account of these see vol. yiii. of the "Reports of the Pa- cific Railroad Expedition." In the bone caves of Pennsylvania have been found the remains of a species whose body must have been at least 12 in. long. In the genus sigmodon (Say and Ord) the general appearance is that of a