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Show 858 MR. E. R. WAITE ON THE SYDNEY BUSH-RAT. [Nov. 16, upon fruit, the traps were rebaited with bananas and peaches, and next morning there were three examples in the traps and again on the following day three more. Afterwards they were caught in ones and twos until they were either exterminated or scared from the dwelling. O n mentioning the circumstance to others at Mosman's Bay, I learned that it is quite common for Bush-Bats to take possession of new houses, and one man, a builder, who has had many opportunities of seeing these animals, tells m e that while the common House-Bat (Mus decumanus) is usually found on or near the ground, the Bush-Bats invariably ascend into the upper regions ; this is quite in accord with their habits as observed, in the bush. The reason that new houses are more frequently occupied by Bush-Bats than older tenanted ones may be partly accounted for by the cat, which, commonly introduced with the human inhabitants, speedily clears them away. Of the rats obtained, a number were kept alive in a suitable cage and became very tame; they were fed upon fruit-grapes, bananas, peaches, and apples, and would also eat bread and drink milk, but flesh foods were left untouched. Dr. James C. Cox informs me that at his residence at North Sydney, these Bush-Bats have for several years occupied the roof, and that they emerge at dusk, descend by means of the vines, and feed upon the seeds of various plants in the garden, notably Tecoma australis and Mandevlllla suaveolens; they also ascend the highest native fig-trees (Picus macrophylla) and feed upon the fruit. Mr. Bobert Etheridge, Jr., while residing at Summer Hill, a suburb of Sydney, was similarly troubled with these rats in his house, and only obtained some immunity on cutting down a large branch which the rats used to traverse in order to reach the roof. Mr. J. Douglas Ogilby also describes to m e how at Petersham, Sydney, these rats infest tbe peach, apple, and other orchard trees, and destroy large quantities of fruit; he has also repeatedly witnessed them seize and devour the singing locusts (Cicadldce), and describes them as frisking about the branches with great agility. One other article of diet is still to be mentioned. Many of the Sydney suburban gardens are overrun with a common English snail, Helix aspersa, which flourishes to a far greater extent than I ever saw it at home1; during the cooler weather, when they congregate in thousands, and hibernate beneath upturned flowerpots, old boxes, and similar retreats, the rats make speedy war upon them by biting off the apex of the shell and extracting the succulent mollusc. By the kindness of M r . J. J. Fletcher I have examined a number of empty shells, and all have, without exception, been treated by the rats in the manner indicated; in 1 This is but another instance of how objects introduced from Europe luxuriate in Australia. Eabbits, Sparrows, Carp, and Weeds are still more familiar examples. |