The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1886-11-18
A aATTLg-scARRgD RAT-cATcHgR
Talks About the Habits and PeculIarI-
ties of the Pcstiforous Rodents.

Talks About the Habits and PecuIiarI-
ties of the Pcstiforous Rodents.
SWhere do the rats come from, said
the rat-catcher. Originally from the
sewer, and when the cellar floor is not
made of cement or stone they are sure
to get into the house. When the track
is once opened they keep it well beaten.
They go from the cellar all over the
house. The lead pipes in the wall make
excellent ladders for them to climb. They
are excellent climbers. When a house is
to be cleaned the pipes are CREASED, if
they can be got at, SO as to keep the rats
in one part of the house. If this can not
be done, then wire nets, with sharp
pointed sides, are hung directly near the
holes. These tickle their whiskers, and
when they raise the net and pass under
it they can not get back to the hole. In
this way they are all corrallcd in one
place. 1t takes time, as they are cute,
and some of the old fellows can not be
led into any sort of traps. If there is
anything in their way they will go a mile
out of their course to get around it.
When they get in places where
1 can not reach them with the tongs l
generally shoot them with small pistol.
Some of the old fellows have fancy of
settling in the ceiling and are the hard
est to get at. The best thing know of
with which to treat these obstinate citi-
zens is a good dose of burning cayenne
pepper. This suffocates them, if they
get a large tvhiff at the start, and
then the house suddenly becomes filled.
with sewer gas, which disappears as soon
as the carcasses dry up and blow away.
Rats breed rapidly, and if all of them are
not destroyed they will quickly overrun
house again.
"Ever been bittenP A hundred times
and more. The bite does not usually
amount to anything. Rats have two
motions of the jaw in biting. The first
is soft and delicate, and the teeth just
scratch the object they have hold of.
Then follows a quick, sharp powerful
action of the jaw, and the slender teeth
sink up to the gums and stay there. This
bite is dangerous; the first nip amounts
to nothing. If the teeth have gone deeply
into my hand 1 always suck the wound.
This seems to keep the swelling down,
but always a good deal of pain follows.
My arm has swollen sometimes when a
hungry fellow has given me a nip to
twice its natural size. It's strange, but
there is no harm in the bite of a well-fed
rat. A frightened rat viii fight, if cor
nered, and viciously, too. The way to
grab rats so that they can not bite is to
seize them with a strong grip just back
of the neck. They will howl like stuck
pigs, but can not get away and are en-
tirely under control.
Il used to have ferrets to clean out
houses, but gave them up long ago.
They are too expensive and are difficult
to handle, and if savage viii bite worse
than rat. An extra number have to be
kept on hand in training all the time,
for when turned loose in the house where
the rats are large one or more viii be
killed. They are just like rats in their
habits and about the same size, and with
a good-sized RAJ it is only question of
which gets the best hold first. Neither
viii let go. I have had ferrets' teeth
fastened in my fingers, and their jaws
were set so firmly that they had to be
pried open with an iron bar.
what is done with the rats? They
are either drowned or sold to dog-fan-
ciers, to train dogs to catch them, or for
use in some of the sporting-houses at rat
bats. Some of the choice ones may get
into the mysterious dishes served up in
Mott street, in the Chinese colony. The
business, however, is growing less every
year. Every house has its own trap, and
on every shelf is a piece of some we'll
advertised rat poison. This is undernlin-
ing the business, and where formerly
l could get $50 or $10O for keeping a
house clear of these mischievous visit
ors, 1 am glad now to do the same work
for $40 or $50. There are only three or
four professionals in the city. One of
them still uses the ferrets, but he was
telling me the other day that he had so
little use for them that they die on his
hands. New York Tribune.