Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-02-08

wife died, and for a while he had a
bad time financially, speculating un-
successfully in cotton: but when he
he was still a wealthy man and happy
to the end. 1t all reads like a novel,
but Metcalfs life story has been truly
! portrayed.
RlpoING A PLACE OF RATS.
REGARDING Their Habits-Traps That
Take Advantage Of Their Thirst.
Rats are migratory in their habit,
for an estate almost free from them
one week, Is found to be swimming
the next, and 1t Is plain that occasion
ally hordes of them must travel long
distances, accumulating as they prog
ress. Whether they send on a pioneer
party Is not known, but 1t has been
noticed, says a writer in the London
Field. that the appearance Of a few
rats at a certain spot generally augurs
the speedy coming Of many more.
An estate which is intercepted by a
stream or river Is peculiarly liable to
an incursion Of rats, and this lends
strength to the belief that they make
their way along the banks Of running
water. finding convenient refugees
while on the journey in the holes Of
water rats by which these banks are
honey combed. For this reason traps
to intercept some Of the invaders should
always be kept set alongside streams.
Rats in big stacks during the cold
season are difficult to destroy, for a
ferret can do little with them, and is
rarely able to make them bolt; in such
cosy refugees they also commence
breeding early, and this soon tends to
big increase. If a ferret Is to be
spared, 1t is a good plan to turn 1t
into a rat infested rick and allow 1t
to remain there; those II does not kill
will be forced to desert. Even better
than a ferret is a live stoat, II one can
be captured unharmed in a box trap
and afterward given its liberty In the
main as long as there is rat to be
had.
A very good plan of clearing rats
from an infested rick has been prac-
ticed with the greatest success. Rats
are exceedingly thirsty creatures. and
this fact was taken advantage Of by
the inventor. With sheets Of zinc sew
eral feet high he formed rat proof
fence round rick at such a distance
that rats could not jump from the rick
over It. The sheets were plain, not
corrugated. and sunk several inches in
the ground to prevent burrowing out.
Directly dry spell Of weather set in
tub was buried in the ground and
partially filled with water, bricks being
piled In It's centre till one stood just
above the surface. The rats. thirsting
for water, absolutely fought for a
footing on this brick. and drowned
each other wholesale, some being ac-
tually slain in combat.
The nearest natural water supply Is
a first rate place at which to trap rats.
for they must resort to 1t in dry wealth
er; and the traps should be set beneath
the water at the spots where they
drink. An excellent method is to ar
range stones with their surfaces pro-
truding just above the water like
causeway along its margin. Each ought
to be comfortable rat jump apart
and at intervals the pan Of a trap (the
rest Of 1t being submerged should take
the place Of a stone. Rats leap from
one to the other and fall victims to the
traps. In a time of drought the old
buck rats eat the young ones. and this
helps to explain their tardy Increase
during a dry season.
Rats are generally prolific after a
season which has been productive OF
acorns and nuts, for these provide
them with abundant winter feed. The
year 1904 was a wonderful acorn sea-
son, with the result that rats fiocked
to the oak woods, and stoats followed
them up; keepers fell into the error OF
trapping the latter, and the conse-
uuence was that large number of rats
survived to breed. .
It Is to be feared that rats are Of
ten attracted to the preserves by
wasteful feeding, more food being
thrown down for pheasants than the
birds can at once consume. The wri-
ter has seen the keepers whistle, as
he appeared with a feed basket, bring
as many rats as pheasants on to a
ride, the rodents and the birds feeding
together, apparently on the best OF
terms.
II rats are permitted to remain in the
preserves there Is little chance Of
winged game. especially partridges, in
creasing. for those eggs they are not
able to consume are stolen from the
nests. Rats have been seen to take
them one by one from beneath sitting
birds. Upon one estate, after a search
instituted upon the discovery Of sew
eral nests emptied of their contents,
keeper had the good fortune to find
about fifty partridge eggs heaped up
by a rat beneath a thicket Of briars.
Only one or two had perforations from
the thiefs teeth. and all but three
were duly Matched when distributed in
various nests.
A rat is always a delicacy to Rey-
nard, and the number he kills In the
course of season must be enormous.
A vixen with cubs Is perhaps most
energetic in hunting them down.
Daily Helps.
pinch of salt improves cakes.
candies and almost everything that
jS cooked.