Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1877-04-26
The Utilization Of Rats.

Most people have an distinctive aversion
70 rats, claSsing them with snake, bedbugs
mosquitoes. and other evils OF this world,
allowed to exist by an in,crutablc rIovj-
deuce tor reasons past human discovery.
Beyond having vague knowledge that
the heather Chinee Gevours the murine
tribe and deems the uusavory looking rn-
dent deiicaCy, the average thinker on the
subject can perceive no utilization for the
vagraut deniZen OF cellars and wharves
save (indrectly) in his furnishing an Oh
ject To be caught by the multiplicity OF in
geniOu, traps which inventors have con-
struct, j, and serving as source OF per-
Petual nervousness TO the wiry Scotch ter
ricr who spends his days in searching Tor
him under parlor sofas. behind furniture,
and in every other shady corner where the
Illogical canine mind cOncciveS a rat might
possibly shelter himself. The fact of the
ease i, that the rat i IN reality auseful an
iLlal and as We showed Recently in dis
cu>~ion OH bedbugs, it L. a violent as,uInp-
ton for amy one To suppose that any living
thing does not serve. or may not be made
to serve, a useful purpose. Moreover, it
Is equally erroneous 10 assert that a rat j.
a roXious beast, TO be sure, he breeds
with a,tonl>hin rapidlty, and he bas the
failing OF canaibalism toward his prog =.
But So has his arch enemy, the well
tom cat. He is pugnacious, bat rarely At
( tacks man save in defence of his lie. On
| the other hand. he is scrupulously neat,
/ even more SO than the average male feline.
As a scaveuger, his labors are of great val
ue in the filthy cities OF the Orient; and
his tail Is a marvel of constructive design
! and source of perpetual admiration to
| the anatomist. Unfortunately he is a pro-
| nounced kieptomanc; and this, with his
supposed proclivity to take refuge in the
| vicinity OF female ankles, makes him a
| parlah and an outcast among tour-footed
| things. Yet mark the Inconsistency: On
the fair hand OF the dam-el, who shrily
! shreks at the sight of that wonderfully
| constructed tail whi>king into a friendly
! hole. may be a glUve-or at least the thumb b
/ d it-made from that despised creatures
skin. and called by courtesy a kid" On
| the mead of paterfamilias. who ruthlessly
! pursues the fugitive inttrlOper with the
! kitchen poker, may be a felt hat made
/ from the rats iur, which exceeds in deiica-
| cy that of the beaver, and which is sought
! after by large corporation, expressly or
/ 9anZed for the purpose, IN Paris. An ec-
/ centric Weshman once, in order to show
\ how far the rat might be utilized for cloth
( iu9. spent three years ia collecting enough
/ ratskins to make himself complete dress,
J DdLy HfthtItuiti. tOdl. dlSltodt. lIOustIs,
| aud even shoes six hundred aud seventy
rats We're inundated tor this purpose. and
! the six hundred and seventy beautifully
| organized tails were strung together to
| form tippet.
Ii is in Pars-that home of the utiiza-
| ton OF everything-that the rat is turned
| to the greatest number of uses. He fur
| nishes employment tor an army OF hunters,
! who pursue him in his sewer Businesses for
| the sake of his skin In the great abattoirs
| of the city rats exist by the million. One
| proprietor on becoming nearly driven from
! his premises by the rodents, threw a dead
| horse in walled enclosure, and then stop
ped up all means of escape, so that the rats,
attracted by the bait, could not get out.
In one night 1850 rats were caught in the
trap and killed BY men armed with clubs :;
in single month, l6,050 of tie animals
were thus destroyed. We note this case
mainly in connection with "a curious utili-
Zation OF rats. wherein dead animals OF all
kinds are placed where they cap get them
as an easy way of disposing OF the refuse
| flesh and securing the valuable bones. A
regular pound. surrounded by a massive
stone wall. is provided for this purpose by
the city authorities of Paris, and it is the
regular mornings work OF those In charge
TO remove the beautifully polished skele-
| tons.
OF course, when thus pampered, the rats
multiply amazingly. aud therefore once in
a while grand battue is necessary to re-
duce their numbers. The way ia which
this is conducted is curious. Horizontal
holes are bored all around. in and At the
foot OF the inclosing walls. the depth and
diameter being respectively the length an6
thickness of il rats body. Upon the morn
| inc of the katfne men armed with Tin nan,
| kettles, drums, and other objects for pro