The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1877-07-19
From the Scientific American. ]
The Utilization Of Rats

From the Scientific Ameiicanl
The Utilization of Rats
Most people have an instructive aver
sion to rats. chasing them with snakes
bedbugs. mosquitoes, aud other evils q
this world, allowed to exist by an inscru
table Providence for reasons past human
discovery. Beyond having vagu.
knowledge that the heather Cbinee de
YOURS the murine tribe. aud deems the
uDsavory looking rodent delicacy, the
average thinker on the subj. ct can per
ceiye no utilization OF the vagrant drni
Zen Of cellars aud wharves, save (indi
recily) in his furnishing an olj-ct To be
caught 10y the multiplicity of ingenious
traps which inventors have constructed
aud serving as a source of perpetual ner
vousness 20 the wiry Scotch terrier who
spends his days in searching for him un
der Sofas behind furniture, and in every
other shady corner where the illogical
canine mind conceives a rat might shrl.
ter himself. The fact OF the case il that
the rat is in reality ~ u-etul animal; and
as we showed recently i'm discussion on
hadbugs, IL il "A violent assumption
for any one to suppose that any living
thing does not seTve,or may not he made
To serve. useful purpose. Moreover. IL
is equally erroneous to assert that a rat
is a uoxinu- hest To b- sure. he breed-
with astonishing rapidly. and he has the
falling OF cfnnibalIsm toward his prog+-
ny. But so has his arch enemy, the welt
led tom Cat. lie is puEnacious. but rare
attacks man save in defense OF his life
On the other hand, be is serupulously
neat, even more 80 than the average mall.
! f..lan A. Lob ri
great value in the filthy cities of the
Orient; aud his tail is a marvel of con
structIve design and source Of perpet
ual admirHtion TO the anaIomist. Unior
tunHtely be is a pronounced kleptnnia
niac aud this, with liis supposed procliv
Ity TO take refuge in the vicinity of r.
male ankles, makes him "A pariah and an
outcaSt among iour.footrd things. Yet
mark the inconsistency: On the fair hand
OF the damsel, who shrilly shrieks at the
sight Of that wonderfully constructed
tail whIskIng into a friendly hole, may
be = glove--Or at least the thumb of it
made from that despised creatures skin
and called 10y courtesy kid" On the
head OF pateriamiliss, who ruthlessly pur-
sues the fugitive interloprr with the
kitchen poker. may he ielt hat made
from the rats fur. which exceeds in deli
cacy that of the beaver, and which is
sought after by large corporation, ex-
pressly organized tor the purpose, i'm
Paris An eccentric Wplshman once, in
order to show how far the rat might be
utilizs-d Tor clothing. spent three years
in collecting enough ratskins to make
himself "A complete dress, hat, necker-
chiet. coat, trousers. and even shoes; six
hundred and seventy rats were iumolat
I'd Tor this purpose, aud the six hundred
and seventy beautifully Organiz-d tails
were strung together to iorm tippet
IL is Ia Paris-that home Of the utili
zation of evrrything-that the rat H.
turned to the greatest number of uses
lie furnishes employment tor an army oi
hunters. Who pui sue I'm ia his sewer
iastnrss-s tor the sake Of his skin. Ia
the great abattoirs ot the city rats exist
10y the million. One proprietor, on be
coming nearly driven from his premises
by the. rodents. threw a dead horse. into
a walled inclosurr, aud then stopprd up
all means of ESCAPE, 20 that the rats. at
Iractpd by the bait. could not get out la
one night , 65O rats were caught in the
trap and killed 10y men armed with club;
n "a single month. l6U5O of the animals
were thus destroyed We note Ilrs Case
mainly in connection with "a curious utll
iLhtipn Ut ThArs WnfEelu uFhu hniulhls OF
all kinds are placed where they can get
them as an easy way Of dIspnsing OF the
refuse flesh aud securing the valuable
homes. A regular pound, surrounded 10y
! "A massive stoue wall. is provided for this
purpose by the city authorities of Paris
-nd II is the regular mornings work OF
those la charge To remove the beautiful
ly polished skeletons.
Of course, when thus pampered. the
rats multiply amazingly. aud therefore
once iII "A while grand Iattue is necessa
~ to reduce their numbers. The way i'm
which this j. Conducted is curious. llor
/ izpIital holes are bored all around. in and
at thu. loot of the inclusing walls, the
depth and diameter being respectively
] the length and thickness of a rat 3 body
| Upon the morning OF the batiue. men
armed with tin pans. kettles, drums. and
other objects Tor producing horrible nOIs
es. rush IN at day break. The astonished
rats prtcipitstely rush for the nearest
| openings, which are those in the walls
But th-sr, whilr large enough To contain
| their bodies. will not accommodate their
tails aud the walls are soun uruam-nted
with vista of those anatomically superb
members, whiskibg about like animated
/ icicles. Then arrives the rat collector
a scientist in his way-~ no. with admira
| tile drxtPrity, sriz-s the pendant tails,
jerks forth the owner attached thpr, t.,
and deposits him ia bag worn over the
left shoulder. The privilege OF catching
the rats Is Iarmed ouL by the authorities,