The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1866-05-10
A Chapter on Rats.

Tho American Agriculturist says: The
habits of vermin are almost if not quite as
important subjects of study as those of
more valued live stock; and some state
ments, derived in part from a professional
rat catcher, who has made life business
of studying the valuable points of rats, so
that he can flank the enemy, storm and
take his strongholds, and economically
maintain his prisoners alive, may be of
much practical value to the readers of the
Agriculturist. The common brown rat is
the mus domeSticus. It appeared in this
country about the period of the Revolution
ary war, and has increased with great r;l-
pidity, having almost if not entirely eX-
terminated the black rat M. rGttus) which
was common before, and which is smaller
and not so sharp fighter.
The brown is the only proper rat at the
North, but at the South two specimens are
not uncommon-thc Florida, or the white
bellied rat and the cotton rat, and in MeXi-
co and Texas we find the root rat, living
in thatch, &C., and the Mexican or bush
rat. These all breed very rapidly; but
none more than the common rat. They
| begin to breed mt two or three month old,
and will have six or eight littcrs year, of
eight young each on an average, under fa-
vorable circumstances, males and females
being about equally divided. Were there
no natural hindrances to their multiplied
ton, n single pair would increase to no
less than 5000 in a single year, and this if
they breed only once in two months
! There is, however one way in which they
are destroyed by the wholesale, for not on
! ly will rats devOur the weakly and sick of
| their companions as soon as they are una
BILE to defend themselves, but il very hard
ly pressed, and they doubtless often are,
they will eat their young. The destruction
by cats, dogs and men is, as general
| thing, inconSiderable. The very happy
results often attributed to the use of cats
and dogs, are usually due to the rats hav-
ing multiplied so as to overstock the prem
ises at the time their foes are introduced,
when they scatter, emigrating, as is their
instinct, in families to other localities.
The rat is eminently a social animal, and
short commons, or any cause of especial
discomfort, or strange noise, as the cry OF
Guinea hens, perhaps the discharge of fire.
arms, or a wide awake terrier will cause Il
p stampede. 1t is this trait which makes
the effect of tho phOsphOrous paste so ELI.
, cient. Comparatively few rats are poison.
ed, but their actions alarm the others, and
when the poisoned ones run away it brings
on a general flight so that often not q sin
gle rat is left. The least amount of food
which will sustain rats may be very accu
rately estimated, but not so all they will ea'
if they can. In this city great numbers o
rats, are kept for the purpose of batting
dogs in "pits," similar to those used fol
cock and dog-fghting. Those are fed only
: just enough to keep them from killing and
eating one another, and tits found that on'
hundred rats will live on one bushel o
a sound corn a week, if fed with great cart
$ Mt two feelings day. A bushel and {
half of corn, fed once a day will bring
= them through, and wheat or rye will 81
further than corn. When rats have thei
"full swing" at corn in the bin or grain il
the NOV, then the quantity they eat is linn
tied by their capacity; yet they will carr.
away a great deal, besides damaging ant
gnawing much more. .....
Suppose there are 1000 rats on a farm
and this is no extravagant suppolttiOL.-
i During the time when they cannot &c
much in the field, they will consume te
> bushels Of corn, or its equivalent, pc
. week. Calling this period four months
y the whole amount consumed is l70 bushel,
j which, even at rs cents per bushel, come
o to $l25 so. This loss is not apparent; for it
n not all corn, but in hay seed, buOkwhea
= oats, pigs feed, chickens, &C., and thu
u divided around is overlooked. The numbC
% of rats in any one single locality is almo
S. always under-estimated They live