Lower coast gazette., 1909-07-03
The Brown Rat in The United States,

IN DlONA \AN III
The u. S, Department Of Agriculture has for
some time been taking cognizance Of the enormous
industrial losses occurring in the United States
owing to the depredations effected by rats and
mice. The interest excited in this problem at
present has been accumulated doubtless by the out
breaks Of plague that have occurred during recent
years in various countries and the perhaps def
nitely ascertainad fact that these outbreaks are
traceable to rats as the conyeyors or hosts Of the
disease. In fact, it is stated that the parasitic
1eas that infest these rats are the true conveyors
Of the plague and the plague can best be resisted
by the destruction of the rats. In Japan it was
reported that their local governments are now de-
stroying several hundred thousands to a million
Of rats annually.
The industrial phase of the rat invasion, which
is now presented to US is, of course, a very old one,
but has seemed about as inevitable and unavoid-
able as the pests of flies, heas and mosquitoes that
are found in every civilized community. The
brown, or Norway rat, which is the subject of
bulletin No. 33 of the Department of Agriculture.
is a comparatively recent immigrant into theU nited
States. Fifty years ago they were never spoken
" Otiie1 Wise tIidll DIS Nv way ldlo, tlC II dolOl Ny
those pests having been somewhat recent and they
named from the country of their origin. The black
rat, which was an immigrant into the United States
at an earlier date, came in presumably from Eu-
rope over three centuries ago. The Norway rat
of more recent importation, is larger in size and
seems to have almost externinated the black rat.
either by competition in search of food or by
,o@,,1 oo,Q;o+ Til, b1,ol, ,o4 LIvvn,,ov o,,nr;,oc
to some extent in nearly all the states Of the fed
eral union and is reported to be abundant in
parts of the South. A variety Of rat called the
Roof, or Alexandrian rat, is similar to the black
rat in form and habits, but not in color.
In regard to the black rat, we would state that
in the rafting experience of over half a century VIZ
never saw one until within a year or two ago,
when in experimenting in various ways for the
suppression Of rats in P%laquemines Parish of this
state quite a number Of rat traps were used and
with them we secured out of say so or IS rats. six
OF seven that were Of unquestionably Of. the black
rat family. This would show that they have sur
yived the competition of the Norway rat in Louisi-
ana and would suggest thai possibly the ample
food supply found in this state makes room for
tHeNl DIS Wen DIS l0f tneif opponents.
The rat problem is attracting attention every
where as industrial losses become a matter of
greater and greater concern with the narrowing
margins of profit in most industrial pursuits. The
utilization of by-products during the last:20 or 80
years has largely revolutionized, nanufs ctaring in
'dustries and at the same time tie. suppression of
waste has been found equally %essential. and: into
that problem the rat question: has entered very
seriously. 'rhis year Louisiana promises to yield
an enormous corn crop; one that will probably re-
quire more or less expectation of the cereal to get
rid of the surplus and the rat problem collides
very seriously with the profits of corn culture.
Rats will attack rice in sacks, but are presumed
not to attack it in any very great extent where it
is stored in bulk.
Our scientists during recent years have been en-
deavorlng to secure some parasite or some bacillus
that will attack the rats and not attack other
things and would in this way enable US to control
the rat pest. But thus far these efforts, although
earnestly prosecuted, do not seem to have been
very successful, With corn and rice crops to the
value of many millions of dollars and with much
other material liable to injury by rats, there is
probably no other state in the federal union where
the rat problem is a more serious one than it is now
in Louisiana. 1t demands that everyone interested
should make all possible effort for rat suppression
and not sit p~assively and permit the rats to take
all they want and then lament the resulting loss.
Southern Cultivation.