Litchfield enquirer., 1857-08-20
The Rat Tribe.

1 the last number of the London Quarterly Re view an interesting article on the habits, etc., Of rats, in which the instances given of their iecuhdity, feroclty and Ingenuity, are almost incredible
 A single pair of rats, in three years, if un. disturbed, will have thirteen filters of eight each at birth, and the young will begin lit tering in the same ratio when six months old, so at the end of three years, single pair will multiply to 656,808 Calculating that ten rats eat as much in a day as a man, the con- sumption of these rats would be equal to that of 64,6oS men, It is clear, then, that if it were not for the extraordinary dimnution of their numbers caused by the ceaseless warfare carried on against them by dogs, cats, bobcats, otters, snakes, and beyond all, human rat, catchers, 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 in. fests vessels of all classes as many as 800 have been found in a single East Indiaman Their greatest difficulty when on ship board IS that Of procuring wat and they have been known to ascend the rigging by night af- ter storm, and sip the rain found in the folds of the sails. When on shore the rats are ex- ceediugly fond of prime fruit : and by burrow- ing under the walls of gardens, will help them selves to taste os the choicest melons, straw berries, grapes, etc, that they can find
 Rats exist in millions in sewers and drains, particularly where there is lot good supply of flush water. By burrowing in every direc- tion, they do immense harm to the hrckwork of the sewers, and frequently spoil pipe drains Gy causing theu to dip at the joints, under which they have eXcavated the earth, In Lon don and Paris, numbers of professional rat 1 catchers trd lucrative employment in hunting them in the sewers When caught they are disposed of either for sporting purposes, for winch they command a ready sale in London l at 15 cents per dozen or they are killed for ! the sake of their fur which Is extensively used l in getting np the ulrivallcd beaver hats" sold by the Paris an hattcrs. The h.de, ul,o is useful for making the best (so callcd) kid gloves
 Rats also commit great depredatons in slanghtcr-houses ur.l knIck rs Yards In sc- were lroSts, when it is impossible to cut up the l bodies of the horses, and when the outside flesh is too hard for the Fats to feed upon, they i enter the body and devour the fish rom the inside, so that when the thaw comes the work men find nothing below the skin but Skec- | ton, better cleared of its h ssh than if it had been done by the most >k lIfuI operator When rats have no other food they will destroy each other NJ. MagcnGie placed dozen rats in box in order to try some experiments when he reached home ami opened the box, there were bat three remaining. These had deyour ed the rest, and had left only the bones and tails
 These little animals are indefatgahle in the pursuit of food, and hardly any amount of pre- caution can keep them from a place wli re they know there is a supply to be had. The proprictors of bonded warehouses krow this to their cost They inlest the London Geological gardens in immclsc numbers, and kaye eaten their way through the copper wire floor of the tigers dens. The rroprictors of the gardens have been compelled in self defense, to keep pack of terriers to hunt them, by whom as many as hundred are sometimes destroyed ill ! one night.
 The propensity of the rat to gnaw through even the hardest obstacles is not merely q era wing, but necessity. His teeth are so formed as to continually grow toward each other, so that nothing but the constant wearing away hy friction could prevent his incisors from passing completely thu ough his lips. A good sized sewer rat can inhct very severe bites, even ill some instances enabling him to vanqush a ter ricr dog, or even ferret.
 There have been instances in which rats have become thoroughly domeStcated, like a cat or dog aud whens this is the case they render good service by driving from the prem ises all others of their own tribe. One mode of ridding house of them is to catch single specimen and fasten small bell round his neck the tinkling of which as he approaches the haunts of his comrades, will frighten thcm away. An expert rat catcher, however, fa- milar with the habits of his prey, will soon clear house of its obnoxious vsitants.
 In China, where the excess of population has driven the inhabitants to economise every spe- cies of food, rats are eaten and esteemed a great luxury and cases are recorded in which ships crews, when short of provisions, have avenged themselves on the rats for lesscning the supplies, by cooking and eating them in the form of baked pies, which it is said, have been deemed quite dainty by the partakers.
 One of the most common methods of rid ding premises of these unwelcome inmates, is that of administering arsenic to them. This, however, is attended by very great danger, for rats which have partaken of arsenic make at once for tie nearest water, and if there be a cstern in the house, they are apt to poi son it.
 There is man now living in Montreal Can ada, called "Od Crele,". is l3O years old. His health is still remarkably good, and his memory remarkably rctentive. He has a clear and distinct recollection of events winch occurred ll7 years ago His habits and modes of living were not peculiarly variant from those of most persons. He ate and drank what his appetite craved. worked moderately, and usu- ally slept well nights. From present appear ances, he seems as likely to live to the age o! ! Thomas Parr, (l5O,) as any man on the face of the earth.