ll of which I am quite
satisfied the Rats had carried down those nine stone steps! How they had
done so I cannot explain, but content myself with stating only the plain
facts of my own personal observation.

Rats are also very cunning in the water, say a pit or a river. Now, a
Rat can exist in water for at most about seven minutes, and you will find
when a dog is swimming after a Rat that the Rat is watching the dog all
the time, for as soon as the dog gets within a yard of the Rat the latter
will dive under water and come to the surface again about 15 yards away.
When the dog has tired the Rat out with swimming, you will very often see
the Rat dive again and come up very quietly and just put its nose out of
the water, or rest its head on a floating leaf. It is so cunning that it
will remain still there, and if the leaf or reed gives way it will come
up at the water side and just thrust out its nose to breathe. By this
means the dog loses full scent of the Rat.

I have also noticed how useful are the Rat's front paws and tail. I have
seen a Rat on the top of a swill tub at a pigsty, when the swill has been
about ten inches from the top of the tub. The Rat was too cunning to
jump down on the wet swill and drown, but I saw it reach as far down the
inside of the tub as possible with its front paws and scrape the grease
from around the sides! I have also seen the same Rat, when unable to
scrape any further down the tub sides, turn round, clutch the top of the
tub with its front paws, dip its tail into the swill, and then gain the
top of the tub and commence licking its tail.

I have also tried an experiment with the same tub, which consisted of
covering the top of the wet swill with bran, which floated on the
surface, and placing a bit of lumpy swill in the middle of the bran, in
the hope that the Rat would jump on the bran in the expectation of
getting at the swill in the middle. However, it did not do so, no doubt
instinctively guided against the danger.

I have also watched Rats run round a set wire or cage trap for a full
hour. I have seen them go half way in and out again, look at the bait
and never touch it, but go away and never return to the same trap that
night. These examples show the cunning instinct of Rats.

There is, however, one power that the Rat is not favoured with, and I am
afraid if they were they would be a greater pest. It is the ability of
high jumping. A Rat cannot, I think, jump high