Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1857-05-02
VARIETY,
The Rat Tribe,

1u6 NAT lrlDe.
The last stnumber of the London Quarter.
y Reoie' contained an interesting article on
tho habits, 60, Of rats, in which the nston,
ces given Of their fecundity, ferocity and
ingenuity, are almost incredible.
Asingle pair of rats in three years, if un.
disturbed, will have thirteen liiters of eight
each at birth, and the young will begin
ltterlngin the same ratio when six mouths
old, at the end of the three years n single
pair will have multiplied to Csc, sos. Gal.
cuIatlng that ten rats eat as murb in one
day as mar, the consumption of these rats
would be equal to that Of 64 COS men. 1t
Is clear then that ifit were not for the ex.
troordinary dimunition in their numbers
caused by the ceaseless warfare carried on
against them by dogs. cats. polecats, offers.
anakes, and beyond all, human rat catchers,
the whiSkered yermin would spoedily ycause
a famine in every part Of the world which
they are found
Rats arc great travellers The ship rat
inteSts vessels of all classes; as MANY as 500
have been found in single East Indiaman.
Their greatest difficulty when on shipboard
is that of procuring water; and they have
been known to ascend the rigging bv night
aftrr storm. and sip the rain found in the
folds of the sails. When on shore, ship rats
aresexceedngly fond of prime fruit; anJ
bv burowiug under the walls Of gardens
will help themselves to taste of the choic-
est melons. Strawberries, grapes, &C., that
thercan find
Rats exist in millions in sewers and drains
particularly where there is not a good sup,
ply of flush water. Burrowing in every
direction they do immense harm to the
brick work of the sewers, and froouently
spoil pipe drains by causing them to dip at
the joints. under which they have excava-
ted the earth, In London aud Paris mum.
bers of professional rat ctchers find lucra-
tive employment in hucIh,g them in the
sewers. When caught thay are disposed
OF either for sporting purposes, for which
they command q ready sale in London at
70 cents per dozen or they are killed for
the sake of their fur. whichis extensively
used in getting up tho unrivaled "beaver
hats" sold by Partisan hatters. The hide,
also, is useful for making the thumbs Of the
best $50 colled) kid gloves
Rats also commit great .depredations in
slaugl ter houses and Knackers Yards. In
severe frosts. when il is imposstleto cutop
the bodies of the horses. and when the out
side flesh is too hard forthe rats to feed up
on, they cntertbe body and devour the flesh
from the inside, so that when the thaw
comes the workmen find nothing below the
skin but skeleton, better cleared Of its flesh
than if it had been done by the most skill
ful operator. When rats have no other
food they will destroy each other NJ. Ma
jendie placed dozen rats in a box in order
t"t Try some experiments (; when he reached
home and opened the box there were but
three remaining. These had devoured the
rest and had left only the bones and tails.
These little animals are indefatigable in
the pursuit of food. and hardly any amount
of precaution can keep them from a place
where they know .here is'a supply 10 be
had. Tho proprietors of the bonded ware
houses know this to their cost They in
fest the London ZoologicAl Gardens, in inn
mense numbers, and have eaten their way
through the copper wire floor Of the tigers
den. The proprietors Of the gardens have
been compelled, in self defence. to keep a
pack of terriers to hunt them, by whom as
many as hundred are sometimes destroyed
in one night.
The propensity of the ratio gnaw through
even The hardest obstacles is not merely a
craving, but NECESSITY. His teeth are SO
formed as to continually grow toward each
other, so that nothing but the constant wear
ing away by friction could prevent his ncis
iors from passing completely through his
lips. A good sized sewer rat can inhict
rVeyv sevnre bitss even in some instances on.
abling hir 10 yanquish terrier dog, OF
even ferret.
There have been Instances in which rats
have become thoroughly domesticated. like
a cat or dog and when this isthe case they
render good service by driving from tn,
premises oil others Of their own tribe. One
mode of ridding q house Of them is to catel