The Empire County argus., 1855-08-25

DEAD HORSES AND RATS IN PARIS. We clip the
following curious Information from the Spirit Of ht
Times:
Four hundred horses die or are killed in Paris in
one week. There is common pound surrounded
by stone wall. covering some ten acres. Accord
ing TO some municipal regulations. all dead carcas
es except human bodies must be brought to this
general receptacle. The carcass of horse is val
liable FOR the bone. the hide, and the hair to say
nothing Of the flesh, much priced when fresh. ir
certain sausage manufactures. But should yol
wait until the horse has actually shuf1ed IF HI,
hairy coil. you might miss bargain another O
the trade precedes and purchases. Hence it is i'm
portant to buy the horse, dead horse, before he
Is dead 1t is regular business in Paris. Yor
can tell these agents for the purchase OF dead hor
ses at a glance the dress is that of an Englisl
groom, save the vgnette on the visor of the cap
representing dead horses head and cross bones
n memorandum book. pencil. Il stamp. and piece
of cauStic. complete his accoutrements With
scrutinizing eye he travels the thoroughflres OF
Paris: should horse 20 lame. break ley or neck
should he show symptoms Of distress in a word
anywhere or in any way evince signs of the many
ills to which horst.n sh is heir Immediately is nm
offer made for the animal, deliverable when really
dead The bargain is concluded, the 'signalment
of the horse and owner is carefully recorded and a
private mark stamped upon the inside of the fureleg
with the causc: the horse goes, perhaps rejoicing.
on his way for weeks. perhaps months, only to he
met with and identified, after death, at the grave
yard tor horses Now, except in cases of fresh spe-
cimens mentioned above the first operation ON
dead horse is to take off tine skin; then the flesh.
to get at the bones. The skinning portion is easy
and performed with a dexterty and rapidity truly
astonishing have seen, in the enclosure spoken
of ut one time, over one hundred horses skinned or
being put through that process. The next point is
to divest the bones Of adhesive. and putrd flesh
bones are valued in proportion as they clear.
neat and free from other matter. To take off the
flesh by the hand is tedious and difficult opera
tiUn. An ingenious Frenchman solved the difficult
ty. He noticed that rats were very fond Of horse.
flesh he advised the authorities to col0nize the
dead horse pound with these animals; the cata.
combs of Paris furnished them by thousands 1t
was done, and now a-days dead horses carcase.
put in over night is literally nothing but a neat
and beautiful skeleton in the morning. The pecu.
mary saving, to bone dealers, from the voracy and
gnawing propensities Of the rat family, is, was
told, very considerable
Our Yankee -Frenchman did not however, stop
there 1t was natural to suppose that rats. well
fed and provided for, would rapidly increase and
multiply hence the necessity Of regulating the
matter. Every three months n grand ''battue' i,
made upon the aforesaid colony of rats, and al
caught above ground die the death of rats The
manner of doing this amused me. horizontal anC
cylindrical holes are bored all around, in and ut the
foot OF the enclosing walls-the depth and diane
ter being respectively the length and thickness o
the rats body. Upon the morning of the 'battue,'
men, armed with tin pans. kettles drums, &c, lusl
in at the peep of day and ohariyari the poor rats
who. frightened to death. poke their heads into the
first opening Of course, all those in the wal
holes have tails sticking out The rat collector
with bag over his left shoulder, makes a tour
Of the premises. and the scientific and rapid man.
ner in which the rats seized hy the tail and
safely (to both rats and operalor) transferred to
the bag. challenges admiration. 1t even surpasses
the ''chifoniers" rag picking, Perhaps you wish
to know what becomes of the rats. These also
are sold before they are killed, caught. The
privilege Of gathering rats the "battue days i.
farmed out by the authorities, and profitable bu>-
it is These rats sleek and fat. us they neces
sarily are, fetch highly remunerative price the
fur. the skin, and the flesh. meet with ready sales
The latter have frequently tasted every trav-
eler who knows where to look for good things has,
in Paris: and | must confess | have eaten more
unpaaable dishes in prude and ccanly America
80 much for dead horses and rats in Paris.