Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1899-12-13
HANDLING FERRETS.
HOW PROFESSIONAL RAT cATchsRs
USE THE ANIMALS.


Little Beasts Arc Elective where
Traps and Poison Fail-They Are
Generally Worked With n Mu..le.
"Weasels and ferrets," said pro-
fessional rat catcher, "are about the
same thing. The imported ferrets
trained to the business are larger than
the weasel, that Is all. After l am
through with rat catching use my fer
rets to hunt rabbits out of brush piles,
hay and straw stacks, which Is IA prof
liable business when rabbits ere
plenty. What you call rabbits over
here we in England call hares.
when u man once starts in as a
professional rat catcher and gets to
understand training and working fer
rets, there is such an attraction in the
trade that he never willingly gives 1t
up. It's profitable business without
too much competition"
do the ferrets ever bite your
Its very careless and awkward
man that gets bitten by trained fer
ret. When one is bitten by an enrag-
ed ferret, the bite is of a very severe
character. extremely painful and slow
to heal"
AS the rat catcher talked a 6-mOnth-
old ferret, his fiery little eyes gleam-
ing like living gems, was crawling over
his lap and trying to get in under his
coat. This fellow" said the rat
catcher. 'is US gentle as n kitten and
likes to have his back rubbed and to
be caressed as well as any cat you ever
saw. When the ferret bites n rats
neck, he knows exactly what lie is do
ing. and his front teeth, cutting like
razors, so right through the tugular.
'.Of course we generally muZZle them
when we Send them in after rats, and
we always nluzzle them when we send
them in after rabbits. If their teeth
were at liberty, they would kill the
first rat or rabbit they met and would
remain in the hole sucking its blood.
When we put n ferret into Il house aft
er rats, we stop mp all the holes ut the
outside of the house except one or two.
Over these we place bags, and the fer
rets, driving the game before them,
run the rats into the bags. We keep
the ferret without his ordinary meals
before using him, and this makes him
keencr in his chase.
Its mighty easy to spoil Il ferret.
After a young ferret has been badly
bitten by rat, as sometimes happens,
you can't get him to go into Il hole
But when Il ferret is full
grown and has the skill and courage
that he should have he is n holy terror
to rats and is valuable animal.
would not sell n well trained ferret for
500, the price of good horse. Such n
ferret / should be willing to put in a
pit with 80 rats, and he could in q short
time kill every one of them. Rats are
great fighters when they are cornered,
but no other animal of the same size
has as much courage as a ferret OF
weasel
"In England the largest ferrets are
called pOlecat fcrrets and are Il cross
If the two animals. which are much
hike. In this country the word pole ,
at is applied to the skunk. an entirely
lifferent animal. The word polecat
$ supposed to be an abbreviation of !
Polish cat, and the animal abounds |
Ike the weasel, except that it is larger, |
md many depredatiOns that are at
to the weasel are committed |
y the mink. All these animals prOwl |
y night, and they frequently go many
niles in search of food, even coming
ntO towns nPd the suburbs of cities"
Audubon as a close student
.aeis,
reaseI, erican ferret.
exibla b9dyvts extraordinary length
( neck, the ciosencss of its fur, it's
eenness of scent, its wonderful agili-
y and quickness of movement, all ex-
tied his admiration.
An American writer says: The COM
non weasel has sometimes been
aught and carried off by large hawks
nd owls. Sorry was the experience
f the captor in such cases. He has
aught Tartar. The captive will bite
ntO the sides of the enemy, so that
10Th will fall to the ground, the bird
nortally wounded and the weasel usr-
lily comparatively unhurt.
The weaScrS courage in defending it.
ELF when attacked by birds of prey Is
admitted. nor is it deficient
n fierce opposition to dogs and even
nen when its nest is invaded by ell
her. 1t usually kills for food. biting
through the lead into the brain with
uch cxpertness that its victim can
utter Il cry of pain. 1t usually
ats the brain first; then the rest Of
he body follows. In pursuing mice.
ats and moles it follows them into
heir runs or holes. \ weasers
proximity to poultry yard is not to
'e desired. But in barns. hayricks
nd grain stacks it is decidedly adj
antageOus, as 1t will surely EXTENT
ate or drive away rats and mice"
The weasels characteristics are not
d I'm two American sayings, Catch
weasel asleep" and Sooner trust n
weasel with eggs" Stories are told
hat n weasel will watch a hen on the
est for an hour, waiting for freshly
aid egg.-Indianapolis News.
II ---
Freak Of the Lightning.
A curious case of lightning destruc-
ion took place at Gatchina, an i'm
erial summer residence not far from
It. Petersburg, where stood stone
ollImu 30 feet high held together by |