The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-12-08
Ferrets and Rats.

A New York paper says: Nice and
rats seem to increase very rapidly IN the
haunts of civilization, especially in large
cities. SeapOrts are particularly in
tested with them, as New Workers know
but too well. These vermin have
grown TO be q supreme nuisance here,
notably in old houses, which are fairly
overrun. They multiply every year.
appearing in numbers where q short
time ago they were hardly seen. How
| to get rid of mice and r.cts is a serious
problem with householders, who are
| often forced to move on their account.
Even all entirely rev house is apt to be
invaded alter a few months, and to be
| seriously hurt as q place Of residence by
the ravages Of the noxious animals.
Traps, however ingenious ofcontrivance,
do little or no good after a brief while,
as the cunning creatures detect their
purposes, and either avoidthem o secure
the bait without danger OF captivity.
Cats get lazy. A good moUser will in a
few months becom Indifferent to Whist
has been its favo1ite pursuit. And any
ordinary cat is afraid Of rats, as well it
may be, and will seldom venture to at
tack item. They are generally too wary
fora terrier, which, with all his vlgi-
lance and ferocity, is frequently deceived
by them. 1t is thought that the intro
duction of ierrets into houses would
mitigate the annoyance. They are often
employed in Europe to destroy such
vermin, and were so employed by che
old Romans. If kept from the cold they
are readily taken care oil, AND, although
not docile or af%ectionate. they are
ranked rs domesticated animals. They
are natives of Africa, and dependent on
man. both here and in Europe, rs With
Oh t his aid they would perish. They
will soon rid 81 house, it is said, of mice
and rats, which have q natural dread
Of them, and have been known to desert
premises that they occupy. They are a
terrible and unrelenting toe. They are
nocturnal, sleeping nearly all day, and
very watchful at night, when the mousse
hold pests commit most of their depre-
dations. Their smallness an slender.
ness enable them frequently TO follow
rats into holes and kill them in 8 trice.
The general belief that they destroy life
by sucking blood is erroneous, notwith-
standing the statement Of n~aturalisfs,
from Buflon to Cuvier and Godfrey st.
Hilaire. After death they, like other
members..of the weasel tribe, doubtless
suck the blood oftheir victims, but they
kill too quickly for s o slow 4 process.
1t has been shown by repeated expert
nlent that they often infict but q single
wound, which proves almost instan.
taneously fatal. They then, as a rule,
quit their victim at once and kill IN.
other in the same way. The simple
wound is under or behind the ear, and
may or may not pierce tho large blood
vessels. The CANNES enter Che spinal
cord between the skull and the first
v%ertehra of the neck, destroying the
victim as the matadore destroys the bull.
They pierce the medulla oblongata, the
very center of life, and Immediately cx-
tinguish motion, consciousness and SEN
sation. This is one of the many in
stances in which the instinct of animals
has anticipated the tardy deductions of
science. The ferret is so mastery o rat
slayer that there seems to be every rea-
son for introducing him into u do
nestle economy, as he will accomplish
what trap, poison, cat and dog bave not
and cannot.