The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-02-04

considered quite as great nuisance as
they are at present is witnessed by the
fact that there was in England an official
rat catcher to the King. This individual
was usually gypsy and wore scarlet
coat, embroidered in yellow worsted, with
figures OF rats destroying wheat sheaves.
Heaalso carried heavy staff sumounted
by the insignia of his office, which he al
ways bore while taking part in royal
pageants. He also had an attendant, who
| took no part in the professions, but who
did the main part of the work. and was
munifcently rewarded by the princely
| wage of twopence month.
The rat is essentially a social animal,
and he habitually herds with his kind
In tho cold weather "a whole colony of
rats, composed usually of about sixty,
sleep together in a heap for mutual
warmth, and they change from the
bottom to the top of the heap in order to
give each rat chance at the warm spot
at the bottom. This unssltishness, how
ever, does not exist when the rats are
| hungry. Then they eat each other. If
the mother rat does not get enough to eat
she eats her young Rats also eat their
dead and intirm, which accounts for the
fact that sick rats are never found at
large. Where a number of rats are con-
fined in cage it is no uncom mon occur
renee for all the rats except one to COM
bine and kill and eat one Inflated COM
panion.
The multiplying capacity of rats is pro.
digious. The female breeds eight times
year. A writer has calculated that
from single pair of New York rats there
will spring in three years, 650,000 de-
scendants.
There ia practically nothing which rat
will not eat or drink. They will drink
all kinds of liquor and are particularly
oil 1ynS no 6ifforopco 10
the rat whether whatever he eats OF
drinks is fresh or not. In fact, he rather
prefers decaying meat and stale drink.
All rats are inebriates, and get as drunk
as they can whenever possible. In the
breweries they lie around in drunken
heaps, and are consequently easily cap
tured. Those who have eaten rats say
that they are pretty good food and taste
not unlike rabbit.
AS has been said, the ferret is the
natural enemy of the rat, and seems to
have been created for the sole purpose of
discriminating the tribe For this purpose
the ferret is entirely fitted by nature.
Both in head and body the ferret is flexi-
bility itself, and he can go anywhere that
a rat can. A ferret is a cross between a
mink, a marten and polerat. The gem
eral colors are white, yellow and mix
ture of black, brown and gray, the tint
varying according to the predominance of
either the mink, marten or poleoat blood.
White. is rather the most fancied color
for ferrets, because this color is more
easily seen.
The ferret hunts only when hungry,
and wholly by scent. For example, =
ferret and rat were recently placed in a
box stall together, in one corner of which
stood walking stick The rat walked
round and round the stall, with the ferret
in close pursuit, and finally climbed up
the walking stick and perched upon the
handle. The ferret also went up the
stick and mailed the rat, and both fer
ret and rat fell to the floor together. The
rat was killed.
The ferret is comparatively domesti-
Gated animal, and will readily become at
tached' to its owner, but it is a very
treacherous little animal, and when irri-
tated will bite even the person by whom
it has been accustomed to be fed. When
bitten by ferret the hand should never
be withdrawn. The moment ferret
feels whatever he has bitten resisting, he
instantly fastens upon it with the tenac-
ity of a wise, and in order to make fer.
ret give up its hold it is frequently neces-
sary to cut its head of.
Ferrets not only kill rats, but they eat
them. A ferret will deYour an entire rat,
includin skin and tail, which carnivor-
GUS quality marks his chief usefulness.
The ferret does not kill the rat in the wall
and then leave him to decay, but he alb
solutely eliminates the rat and removes
him internally. When ferret is finished
with rat there is no rat, and there is no
known case where a rat, however large
and ferooious, has killed ferret.