Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-05


ominous, in view of the fearful danger from
nre which Is deemed to threaten 500 hu-
man lives daily in that unfit structure?
attribute, the desertion to Bob-a cat-which
was rendered a mascot through having its
tail chopped of short by the knife of a pa
Imported Rodents.
1t seems rather odd that the three kinds
OF rats Familiarity known as nuisances in
this Countrywide black, the gray and the
ship rat-are all immigrants imported from
ABROAD. Inc gray. or mus Alexandrinus-
30 caneo because u came across the Medi-
commonly known as the roof rat" for the
reason that in Europe it lives in thatched
roofs OF houses In all respects save color
1t Is almost exactly like the black rat, even
to the remarkably long tail. The black rat
IL termed by the biologists the mus rattus
while the brown rat has received the desig-
which is the ship rat or Norway rat, has
almost driven the others or the face Of this
continent. 1t is nearly twice as big as they
Mice are simply rats Of smaller size. The
common house mouse belongs to the same
genus as the rodents above mentioned. Ii
has received the diminutive appellation OF
mus musculus. Brought from Europe, IL
has spread even more rapidly and widely
than the English sparrow. The black and
black species is said to have entered Europe
by way Of Astrachan four centuries ago.
the brown kind following later. The latter.
called the Norway rat. is really Persian
rat. Not many years ago the common rat
In this country was black. with q long tail.
but this animal Ii rarely seen nowadays
Our own native American rats are no!
nearly related to any of these imported
species. Those indigenous to this country
belong to different genera altogether.
Native Rats.
Among the most iteresting Of these are
the wood rats of California, which build
great mounds four or five feet high, COM
posed of leaves and rubbish Such a mound
Is the dwelling Of a single pair and their
young The occupants are great thieves.
They have q propensity for stealing what
ever comes In their way about the camps
of prospectors or travellers, carrying OF
knives, crockery, &c. to their nests for
playthings. In the deserts of the west are
found species of mice which live on scor-
Valley expedition of the Department of
Agriculture trapped many of these curious
rodents. Sometimes they kill and eat each
other. They are the only essentially car
nivo-ous mice in existence. The so-called
kangaroo rats of the western deserts are
not true rats, but are related to the
garoos. using for props their tails. which
are also employed to help them in jumping
The little harvest mice belong in the
on the ground. In the woods and fields S s ali
over this country are found the white
footed mice, which are the most common
and the most widely distributed Of all the
native. species. They run about on the
snow in winter and are a great bother to
trappers. getting into the traps as quickly
as they are set. They climb trees in the
north, making their nests in cavities forty
or fifty feet above ground. In the south
they build spherical nests In the bushes,
and these are often mistaken fo- birds
Indigenous to the United States Ave are in
cluded among the field mice. The latter
have thick heads and short tails. They are
oil Alat
muskrat is only big water field mouse
modified for aquatic existence, with q
keeled tail to scull with.
There is man In Boston who takes con-
tracts to remove dead rats from houses at
s. each, whether five minutes or a week is
required TO accomplish the task. AS a rule.
ne does the he JOB . very quickly He relies
smell. On arriving at the premises which
have been rendered temporarily uninha bit
able from such cause he noses about,
meath fireplaces and in other warm spots
which dying roSnts would be likely to
seek: Having thus located the trouble pref
wall with an auger and sniffs at it. II 1t is
a find 1t only remains TO enlarge the OPEN
ing and take out the corpse. The removal
the Latter is ehHaP at the price
of his rent money in expenses for taking
up floors. &c. to get out decaying rats. A
terrier can be trained to great usefulness as
an assistant in work of this sort.
The Rats Tail.
biologists say there are more muscles in
a rats tail than in the human hand This
in fact, serves Mr.. Rat as a
sort OF hand, by means OF which he is en-
abled to crawl along narrow lodges and
other i difficult passages; using It to balance
like the tails of some monkeys By means
OF IL the little beast can jump up heights
otherwise inaccessible. employing it as a
lie a fhaf ,a~rx.
very plentiful in Ireland. have all been
eaten up by rats, so that now there are
none left. In Paris great rat battue is
a year In the city sewers beneath the
streets and pavements The bite OF a rat
by the way, is always dangerous. but that
its teeth are apt to be poisoned with de-
cayed garbage. People In Siam are said to
keep rats for pets instead of cats.
effect that in order to get rid of rats the
best plan Is to address a formal note to
them requesting them to leave. 1t is neces-
sG ten to bs by What
be well buttered and thrust into the rat
hole. The proper form is about as follows:
"Messrs Rats: You are respectfully asked
to leave my house before noon on the first
day Of next month. Permit me to refer you
to the barn Of my friend, Mr. y, on the
high road just a mile north of here. 1t is
well stocked with grain, which will furnish
you with food for the winter. Yours. &C."
In a book published during the tenth CEN
fury DR.. Newell. the folklorist, discovered
a form of a similar letter, to be written to
field mice in cases where they become an
moving. 1t read: Il adjure you, o mice, not
to injure me. The field at such and such a
place. belonging to my neighbor so and so,
l freely give you to dwell in, and you can
eat whatever grows there" This inscrip-
ton had to be posted on natural stone"
In the infested field.
The Roach Nuisance.
Another nuisance that affiicts the govern
ment departments il reaches. The pen
sion office swarms with them. At night the
watchmen catch big fat ones and keep
them until morning in pasteboard boxes
Then they feed them to the goIdfshes In the
fountain In the middle Of the great court
The latter gobble them greedily. which fact
suggests that possibly such vermin might
be made use of by anglers for bait The
trapping OF such bugs for that purpose
may possibly be an industry Of the future
The scientific library of the patent office is
visited once in two years by an expert who
destroys all the reaches by contract The
War, State and Navy building used to be
overrun with reaches, but they have been
nearly cleaned out by means OF a peculiar
bug powder, which they are very fond of
ca ting. Having done SO, they die and dry
up. little of the powder is put in a
receptacle on each desk. and more of II Is
scattered through papers that are filed
The document room of the House of epre-