The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-16
THREE HUNDRED MILLION RATS.
COLONIES IN DWELLINGS, CHURCHES.
BREwERIEs, GRAIN ELEvAToRs.
VESSELS, DOCKS AND HOTELS.
Peculiaritles and Habits.
New York Mercury.l

ton OF the metropolis. It is immense, and
outnumbers three hundred times the human
population When 1t is considered that q
three-months-old rodent becomes provocative;
that 1t always has six at q litter-a litter
every month, and, Ii escapes trap, cat, poison
and other violent death, will live twelve
years, its multitudinous progeny appals the
arithmetic man.
There are rats of all colors. Chameleon
like. their tint depends upon their feed. Those
who thrive the best and attain the largest
size inhabt canal-boats and docks, where
plenty of grain Is to be had. The tenement
house rat tlrlves, gets corpulent and multi
plies rapidly; the precautions against in
vasion being loss numerous and invulnerable
than In dwellings on Fifth Avenue and in
other localities inhabited by the rich, who
consider the rat as an enemy and intrench
against him by using cement, iron and other
ways that defy his file-lke teeth.
Adolphe Isaacsen, OF No. 46 Fulton street,
who has made the subject OF rats, their habits
and peculiarities study for forty years. and
who has trained them go that they will follow
him like a dog, furnished some interesting in
formation to a Mercury reporter. He said I:
"When full grown and Of good size and con-
In weight. And IL 1t were not that hunger
makes rat cannabalistic, so that he feeds on
his own species, the metropolis would be over
run with rodents, and instead of number
ing billions they would be innumerable.
Nature has provided them with immense
gnawing powers, 80 that the hardest wood Is
unable to resist their entertainments. Thus
1t happens that their raids for food are usual
ly successful, and they are not often COM
PEELED to feed upon each other. They become
na nj In Ia nnly whom hrnnpr driUac than tn
t. Put large, wefl-fed rat into cage with
dozen smaller ill-fed ones, deprive them OF
all food, and 1t will only be short time when
the old fellow will be the only survivor, and
all there will remain OF his com panions will
be few polished bones. United, the rats
| never show any spunk, but they always pre-
fer to attack single-handed.
Rats being ia a room in large masses will
not attack men. but will run into corner
and hide themselves behind and under each
other, thus forming a heap. These rats would
| live peaceably together for any length OF
time II properly supplied with food and water,
but as soon as they ara out OF either they will
| attack each other, and show beautiful fight.
| The stronger will kill the weaker ones, drink
| their blood, deyour their meat and bones,
leaving nothing behind but the hair and tail +,
thereby sustaining themselves on their own
bodily resources for a long time. After they
have taken to such resources, the average
time until they have mutually destroyed each
other principally depends upon where they
are.
ar In house or on board ship IL would
take longer than IL confined In cage. When
very hungry and In search OF food they are
sometimes verY dangerous. On such occa-
sions big rat has attacked sleeping children,
or sick people, and severely wounded them.
A rat will not attack man unless over
hungry or excited, but when cornered has
been known to fly at persons and fight with
desperation. The rat has q perfect organ Of
hearing, and the least noise will make him
suspicious. However, they may get used to
noise, and rats living In hotels, factories, etc,
where there Is constant din, are not 50 easily
scared as rats living in stOre-hOuse or barn,
where sound is only occasionally heard.
"The rat loves sweet, soft, melOdious tones
| OF music, and great many experiments have
been made In tanning rats thereby. but with
only Indifferent success. The smelling organ
Of the rat Is very cultivated, and by pander-
| ing to their taste In this direction it Is also
| made possible to allure or expel rats to or
| from q place, just at the will OF man. BY
| fiattering this sense, In combination with the
| sense of hearing, the rat is entirely under the
| control OF his worst enemy, man. The feel
| ing of the rat Is one OF the senses OF which
| the rat catcher takes great advantage, feeling
and seeing being the least developed
| senses OF that animal.
I'm their natural wild state the rats live In
tribes of from forty to sixty; in the winter
more, In the summer less. Being idle or al
rest they lay in one heap, alternately below
or on top. changing their position very fire.
quently, so as to give each one an oppOrtuni
ty to enjoy the warm place at the bottom
The rat has a very peculiar taste. In case oil
great hunger anything, from the sole of an
old boot to the prime rib OF a best quality
steer, Is acceptable. A rat can hardly see il
the daytime, and If you meet him in the suns
rays you may depend upon 1t he could no
see you at ALL but his hearing is SO acute ]
will tell him exactly where you are, and war;
him OF the danger. He is a near-sgnted ami
NAL In the night time he can see little, bu
not much better"
to q careful computation made by Mr.. Isaac
sen Is estimated as follows: There are about
1880 stores: allowing forty rats to eact
would make 522, 400. There are 1922 stables
| get the total OF 533 200. Averaging fifty rats
each to the 5000 factories would give multi
tude of 150, 600 rodents In these places OF daily
toll In the $4,000 tenement houses In thu
| city there are at least 100 rats in each, which
would make q total of over 2,000,0 900. Tht
sixty four slaughter-h houses in New York al
ford homes for about 10000 rats In each, max
| ing GAO 600 and In the fifty-Six breWeries
with their grain-filled lofts and bins, proba
bly,, a like number of rats finding home
| In the ten distilleries it is safe to asser
that there are over 10000 of the rat genus
! The markets and meat-stands around town
| about 1500-affOrd dwelling places for upward
| OF 100000 more. In the twenty-eight rail
road depOts, filled as they are with grain
| there are about 100000, while In the public
halls, churches, hospitals. asylums, banks
and theatres between 5000 and 10000 are com
fortably established. 1t may be safe to locate
| 100 rats to each OF the 300 bakeries In the city
which would give total of 10000 A CRANE
meat hiding" place for rats IS In the hotels
and. allowing 500 to each OF the 179 hotels
would give the number of these permanent
boarders at SO 800.
There are about 10000 dwelling houses, In
each of which there dwells a average OF ter
rats, leading aquiet and retired and life, ant
this would roll up the rat population 10000
more. Beneath and in vicinity Of the 50
piers OF this city there are estimated to b.
20,O00000 rats. The canal boats, grain eleva
tors and storehouses on the river front affort
protection for 2Q,00O,0J0 more. Every shiI
that lies at the wharves carries q full cargo 0
rodents. The sewers throughout the cit,
swarm with rats, but they are of differen
| species from the house rat, being OF a reddisl
brown, OF large size and exceedingly savage
I0 make any computation OF their npmbe
is almost impossible, but it is safe to say tina
Nnvx V,Arirr 49,, Ia