The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-07-30

the black soil during the ho, ~.
This rat climbs the stalks Of Oft tho so aea
and gnaws off the heads genera1 Iv Crop
days before they ripen. Great ma, sleE
OF the rats inhabiting the black s";'
said to be killed every year BY tho tbp az AZ
heavy rain of the monsoon. 'Ih ,a1 u aFa
soil swells when the dreuchiuc r -; o sas
on it, and the broad, deep crsc ir,t ta lals
in the hot season, closing, s1ffo Ns oa n
rats caught within them. 1t wac : ~ % ne
vember. 1873, in the district Of S 81 No.
pore, that the rats first began to . .1oa'
notice; but it was not till June and %I1 rae
of the following year that ther s Sa. salg
an actual plague. Grain was scrs ssS,ls
up and eaten as soon as sown cst,.
plants were destroyed, and the cu uui,oa'
ing classes, depressed by the dro",S'
and scarcity Of previous Years ', "
driven to state little short Of dss' "sle
ton. In July, 1879, the Govern rpssa.
adopted energetic measures for tho Sa
struction of the vermin. A revsra Is =.
one rupee was offered fore very hnnS,s %
killed, and district officers were ronssS
to DO their utmost toward exterminst
ing the animals. 1t was reo,,; Ia.,
that the rats killed should ~
produced at the Government trp,sa
ries, where the tails were cut off . .ss
the bodies returned to the cl.ima,,.
who usually carried them home for foox
As long as the plague was at its he;rs.
this system Of rewards remained -
force. In al. over sixteen million ~, ~
were killed; and by March, 1880. ihss ,
were reduced to tolerable numbers 4:
regards the origin Of the plague, no A.
together satisfactory explanation H..
been afforded. From the fact Of the;,
appearing in greatest numbers in fl.
famine-stricken districts, it has be ~
conjectured that the large amount ~
land lying untitled, owing to the iesthor
absence OF the occupants, served a. far.
orable and unmolested breedins.g ground,
for the vermin; that, BY the absence d
heavy rain, the suffocation of humler
by the monsoon rains did not take ulsce.
and th:t the exhaustion Of the usaih I'm.
foreground stores of grain which No
doubt ordinarily feed much yermin.
drove unusual numbers to the surface.
ffAe plague however tfarose, was
fostered by the religious prejudices and
apathy Of the peasants. The cultiyston
as body did little; but some tribe, did
take to rat.catching and rendered sood
service. Various means were resorted
to. Phosphorus-paste balls, fumips,ion.
asphyxiators, sulphur squibs were III
tried, but with only partial success. Dip.
ging up the burrows, though tedious
was found after all to be the better
method. As clumsy, characteristic 4,
tempt was made in one collectorste 10
obtain rewards q second time for the
same rats by fastening the amputated
tails on with babul thorns; and. in the
same district it was discovered that raa
were being imported at twelve annssth
hundred from the territory of the Nizam,
with the view of making four annss, o.
sixpence, on every hundred by the trans
action. Energetic; as the Go1ernmenl
measures were, it is not supposed tha,
the cessation Of the plague was due d
the number of rats killed for the sake d
reward. The heavy rain that fell latsl
in the season and the fro>ts and coli
which set in before the close Of the yes
are believed to have done much more d
the way of extermination.-S!. Jane
(Lond0n) Gazette.