The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1888-02-17
Ferrcts in Warehouses;.

81 am going down totbuy some
trained ferrcts," said u White street
dry-goods merchant to q reporter for
the New York Star
what fort"
"Well, my store from basement tc
roof is infested with rats. and they do
i%ncalculablc mischief. For instance,
this morning we found q piece of silk
worth $50 completely destroyed by the
rats having gnawed through it. Ihave
had cats and dogs IN the building, but
they have proved useless, as they can
not go where a rat can. I was in Eng
land this summer, and visited in Lon.
don several of the largest dry-goods
stores. In the course Of tho CONVERSE
ton with the proprictors 1 learned from
them that they have in their employ u
ferret-keepcr, whose duties are to tend
to the animals and keep the ware
houses clear of rats.
sin III large house, which is liter
ally packed from cellar to roof with
cases of silk, satins, and general dry
goods, I was taken to the garrett. where
1 found in q specially-designed space
several small Kennels surrounded
by finely-wircd fences. Here l saw
some thirty ferrets, curlcd up asleep
or moving around in that snakc-likc
manner characteristic of them.
".I wouldn't take f1OO for these,
remarked the gentleman who accom-
panied me, 'for they have saved me
many thousands of pounds since
have had tllcm.' He then sent for the
Keeper. who entered the enclosure; hc
called tho fcrrets by name and each
answered him by running toward him.
He here explained how they were
trained to answer his call or wills.
tic, and always after killing a rat to
drag it out Of its holc and leave il
where it could be readily found. The
gentleman then directed the keeper to
get q few rats, which he soon brought
from a big cage in which they were
kept. They were, truly speaking,
thorough out-and-out ugly, vicious
specimens of the London rat. The
keeper threw a half a dozen into tho
Enclosure, and quicker than thought
the fcrrcts had pounced upon them
and killed them.
"When I returned from Europe I dc.
termincd to initiate my English cousin,
and I lave had a similar pen construct
ed on the top floor of my building, and
I am now going to see about the fer
rets."
The Star reporter accompanied the
merchant to q Fulton street vermin.
destroyer store. There in large wired
cages and kennels were ferrets of all
colors and cost. Some were to be had
for IS a pair, others for $50 and even
more. The latter were of sun-brown
color, of great strength and cxtraor-
binary rapidity of movement. Tney
answered tho keepers call and seemed
pleased at his petting them.
An attendant who was spoken to
brought out what, when put together,
made q regular rat-pit, the sides Of
which were snlearcd with blood. At a
signal he dropped in half a dozen
ticrcc-looking rats. and then tho two
ferrets were thrown in. In less than
two minutes the rats were stretched
lifeless and bleeding. Other ferrets
were then tried, but the younger and
loss experienced and trained ones could
not kill as quickly as tho older md
better trained cues. Tho merchant
bought half q dozen of the older ones.
which after thcy have got accustomed
to their lei home, will be allowed ia
wander through tho great warehouses
ut night.
"They will soon learn to know tho
place and answer to the call" said tlle
seller, land Twill wager they will soon
make rats scarce in the building" .