The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1899-07-29
JERSEY CAT FARM.
OWNER PAYS A NICKEL FOR A
GOOD RAT.
dice Worth Three Cents Each-Tried
to Economic and 6. p. G. A. Got
After Him-wss Doing . Rushing
Business. .

At last rats and mice have an Ameri-
can market value. A man in New Jer-
sey is prepared to pay five cents for
every healthy rat delivered, and he
quotes mice at three cents each. Jc-
rome Sheppard, an old sea captain, Is
bulling the rat and mouse market, and
is anxious to buy 5000 rodents. Cap
tain Sheppard already has a supply of
rats and mice, but owing to the atti-
tude assumed by the New Jersey So
ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals he has been forced to adver-
tise for rats and mice SO that his stock
may mot become depleted. 1t so hap
pens that Captain Sheppard is the pro-
prietor Of a cat farm near Caldwell,
N. j., and rats and mice are necessary
to his business. Four years ago the
captain, who looks every inch the
typical ''seadog," gave up the sea and
determined to devote the rest of his
life to raising cats. While on his
cruises Captain Sheppard secured a
valuable collection Of high bred cats.
For four years he has been raising
cats, and is said to have made a small
fortune from his farm. Angoras, NAL
tese, Siamese, Indian, Russian, Japan
csc and, in fact, every breed of cats
known to the fancier can be found on
the Sheppard farm. Each breed is
kept in a separate corral, and pedigrees
are preserved carefully Of each new
arrival. The cats are first domesti-
Gated and made familiar with people,
especially children, by constant pet
ting, and are next trained as ratters
and mousers. It is owing to this lat
ter fact, and to Captain Shephard's
original methods of training his cats
that the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals has threatened his
industry with extinction. Captain
Sheppard has probably 200 cats always
on the farm. and it required a good
many rats to go round. In order that
one rat might serve to train several
cats, the plan was adopted Of placing
a rat in a glass box or a wire cage set
in the corral. Naturally the unfor-
tunate rat created a great deal of K
element in the corral, and when it be-
came exhausted from fright the rat
was taken to a cage to recover Sooner
or later the rat was turned loose
among the cats, that they might taste
his blood. Sometimes rats were tied
with a string and hung just beyond the
reach Of the cats. The society Sc
riously considered Captain Shephard's
case at several of its meetings, and
finally, a few days ago, notified him
that he must a torturing rats, but
consented to permit him to give the
rodents outright to the cats. AS a re-
suit Captain Sheppard is at his wits
end to keep up his supply Of rats, as
he uses about 100 each week. Conse-
quently he has been compelled to enter
the rat market and pay IS a hundred
for rats and s. a hundred for mice.
The stable boys in the vicinity of Cald-
we'll are investing in rat traps aud ex-
pect to reap a harvest az a result of
Captain Shephard's offer. Some idea
may be gained OF the proftableness of
cat farming from the fact that over
1000 kittens q year are raised and sold
from the Sheppard farm. These, all
we'll bred and thoroughly trained,
bring from 81 to IS each. In many in
stances especially we'll bred cats, with
pedigrees deliberately inscribed on
parchment, bring $50.