The Girls Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 355, October 16, 1886 | Page 3

my approach, which, as I had but little time to spare, was not as cautious as it ought to have been. However, I remained perfectly still, and presently a little fish appeared from below. It was soon followed by a second and a third, and before long a whole shoal of fish were floating almost on the surface, looking out for insects which had fallen into the water.
The day being hot, and with scarcely a breath of wind, the fish soon became quite bold. They did not move beyond the small spot in which they had appeared, but they all had their tails in slight movement, and their heads in one direction, thus showing that although the water appeared to be perfectly motionless, there must be a current of some sort, fish always lying with their heads up the stream, so as to allow the water to enter their mouths and pass over their gills.
If then these sluggish streams were unlike those of Oxford, where the ground is low, and nearly level, how utterly distinct must they be from those of hilly and especially of rocky localities!
In the earlier part of the present year I was cursorily examining a brook in Cannock Chase, in Staffordshire. Unfortunately, the day was singularly inauspicious, as the sun was invisible, the atmosphere murky, and a fierce north-east wind was blowing, a wind which affects animals, etc., especially the insect races, even more severely than it does man. Even the birds remain under shelter as long as they can, and not an insect will show itself. Neither, in consequence, will the fish be "on the feed."
On a previous visit, we had been more fortunate, trout, crayfish, etc., testifying to the prolific character of the brook, which in one place is only four or five feet in width, and yet, within fifty yards, it has formed itself into a wide and treacherous marsh, which can only be crossed by jumping from one tussock of grass to another; and yet, again, it suddenly spreads out into a broad and shallow torrent, the water leaping and rippling over the stony bed. Scarcely a bush marks its course, and within a few yards it is quite invisible.
As we shall presently see, the brooks of the chalk downs of Wiltshire, and of the regular mixture of rock and level ground, which are characteristic of Derbyshire, have also their own separate individualities.
We shall, however, find many allusions to them in the course of the work, and we will therefore suppose ourselves to be approaching the bank of any brook that is but little disturbed by man. What will be likely to happen to us will be told in the following chapters.
CHAPTER II.
Life-history of the water-rat--No science can stand alone--What is a water-rat?--The voles of the land and water--Their remarkable teeth--The rodents and their incisor teeth--The tooth and the chisel--The skate "iron"--Chewing the cud--Teeth of the elephant--Feet of the water-vole--A false accusation--Water-voles in gardens--Winter stores--Cats and water-voles--Subterranean pioneering--Mental character of the water-vole--Standing fire--Its mode of eating.
Plop!
A water-rat has taken alarm, and has leaped into the brook.
A common animal enough, but none the less worthy of notice because it is common. Indeed, it is in many respects a very remarkable creature, and we may think ourselves fortunate that we have the opportunity of studying its habits and structure.
There is much more in the animal than meets the eye, and we cannot examine its life-history without at the same time touching upon that of several other creatures. No science stands alone, neither does any animal, however insignificant it may appear to be; and we shall find that before we have done with the water-rat, we shall have had something to say of comparative anatomy, ornithology, ichthyology, entomology and botany, beside treating of the connection which exists between man and the lower animals, and the reciprocal influence of civilisation and animal life.
In the first place, let us define our animal.
What is a water-rat, and where is its place in zoological systems of the present day? Its name in science is Arv��cola amph��bius. This title tells its own story.
Though popularly called a rat, the animal has no right to the name, although, like the true rat, it is a rodent, and much resembles the rat in size and in the length and colour of its fur. The likeness, however, extends no further.
The rats are long-nosed and sharp-snouted animals, whereas the water-rat has a short, blunt nose. Then, the ears of the rats are large and stand out boldly from the head, while those of the water-rat are small, short, and rounded. Again, the tail of the rat is long and slender, while that of the water-rat is comparatively short. Place the two animals side by side, and you will wonder how anyone could mistake the one