Abstract
THE explanations by Mr. Nicols (NATURE, vol. xix. p. 433) fail to convince me that the rats cut the pipes to get at the water. I have seen the edge of joists cut or gnawed about eight inches above the ground, where the rat would have to stand on its hind legs to do it—What was that for? Again, why does our cat scratch the legs of the kitchen table? It seems to me that rats are often like children, they must be doing something to work off the energy within them, and fill up the time, and they often do things without any definite reason. Lastly, if the water is at high pressure especially do they stop to drink the water at all? It also runs in my mind that the rats cut the lead pipes where there was plenty of clean water without doing so.
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BUCHAN, W. [Letters to Editor]. Nature 19, 459 (1879). https://doi.org/10.1038/019459d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/019459d0
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