Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1857-05-16
aflistellaneons.
THE RAT TRIBE.

The last number of the London Quarterly
Reriew contaiued an interesting article on
the habits, &c Of rats, in which the instau-
tances given of their fecundiity, lerocity,
and ingenuity, are almost Incredible.
single pair OF rats, in three years, il
undisturbed, will have thirteen lltters Of
eight each at u birth, and the young will begin
littering IN the same ratio when six months
old, SO that at the end Of three years a
single pair will have multiplied to 656,S0S.
Calculating that ten rats eat as much in one
day as a man, the consumption Of these would
be equal to that Of 64,60o men. 1t is clear,
then, that if it were not for the extraordinary
dlmlnution in their Numbers caused by the
ceaseless warfare carried on against them by
dogs cats polecats, oIters, snakes, and be-
youd all, human ratcatchers, the whiskered
vermin would speedily cause famine in
every part of the world in which they are
found.
Rats are great travellers. The ship rat
infests vessels of all classes; as many US five
hundred have been found in a single East
lndlaman. Their greatest difficulty, when Oh
shipboard, is that OF procuring water; aud
they have been known to ascend the rigging
by night, after storm aud sip the rain found
in the folds of the sails.-When ON shore,
ship rats are exceedingly fond OF prime fruit;
and by burrowing under the walls Of gardens
will help themselves 20 a taste OF the choicest
melons, Strawberries, grapes, &c., that they
can find
Rats exist in millions in sewers and drains,
particularly where there is not good supply
of tlushwater. BY burrowing in every dlrec-
tion they do immense harm to the brckwork
of the sewers, aud frequently spoil pipe
drains by causing them TO dip ut the joints,
under which they have eXcavated the earth.
lu London and Paris numbers Of professional
rat-catchers find lucrative employment in
bunting them in the sewers. When caught,
they are disposed of either for sporting pur-
pOses-for which they command u ready sale
in London at seventy-iive cents per dozen
or they are killed for the sake of the fur,
which is extensively used in getting up the
unrivaled beaver hats" sold by Partisan hat
ters The hide, also is useful for making the
| thumbs Of the best (so called) kid gloves
Rats also commit great depredutions in
slaughter houses and Knackers' Yards In
the severe irosts, when it is impossible to
cut up the bodies of the horses, and when
the outside flesh is too hard for the rats to
feed upon, they enter the body and devour
| the flesh from the inside, so that when the
thaw comes the workmen find nothing below
| the skin but a skeleton, better cleared of its
flesh than if it had been done by the most
skilliul operator. When rats have no other
food they will destroy each other. Nj. Ma
jendie placed dozen rats in u box in order
To try some experiments; when he reached
home and opened the box, there were but
three remaining. These had devoured the
rest, and left only the bones and tail.
These little animals are indetatigable in
the pursuit of food, and hardly any amount
of precaution can keep them from a place
where they know there is a supply to be had.
The propretors of bonded warehouses know
this to their cost. They iniest the London
Geological Gardens in immense numbers, and
have eaten their way through the copper
wire floor of the tigers dens. The proprie-
tors of the gardens have been compelled in
self.deience TO keep pack of terriers to
hunt them, by whom as many as u hundred
are sometimes destroyed in one night.
The propensity of the rat to gnaw through
even the hardest obstacles, is not merely a
craving, but necessity. Ills teeth are so
formed as to continually grow towards each
other, SO that nothing but the constant wear
ing away by friction could prevent his Incl
sors from passing completely through his
lips. A good-sized sewer rat can lnhlct very
severe bites, even in some instances, enabling
him to vanquish terrier dog, or even 4
ferret.
There have been instances in which rats
have become thoroughly domesticated like q
cat or dog; and when this is the case they
render good service by driving from the
premises all others of their tribe. Ore mod,
OF Kidding house of rats is to catch single
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