New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1912-08-17

lnYdOeU LIlC AoA iA'
the surrounding country and
caused heavy losses during the
winter and summer of 1904. A
local newspaper stated that BE- De-
tween March 20 and April ~,
1904, Mr.. F. W. Montgomery, OF
Presumption, Mercer County, kill al
ed 3.435 rats on his farm. lie
caught most of them in traps.
In 1877 similar migration OF
rats into parts of Saline and La
favette counties, Mo-, took place
Also. one came under my own OBJ
servation in the Kansas Rlver
valley in 1904. This valley, tor
the most part, was flooded by the
great freshet of June, 1903, and
for about ten days was covered
with several feet Of water. Prob
ablv most Of the rats in the val
lev at the time persisted in the
flood. Yet in the fall OF l9o3
much of the distinct was VISITED
bv hordes of rats, which renamed
during the winter and had so IN
creased by the following spring
that serious losses to grain anu
poultry resulted.
No doubt most Of the so-called
migrations Of rodents, were oil
the facts known, could be ac-
counted for as instances OF ap-
normal reproduction or of failure
of food supply in one place, COM
pelling change of habitat. In
England a general movement OF
rats inland from the coast occurs
every October. This is known to
be closely connected with the
closing of the herring season.
During the fishing the rodents
swarm to the coast, attracted by
the offal left in cleaning the
herring; and when this food FANS
the animals troop back to the
farms and villages.
In South America plaques OF
rats are often periodical, os-
curing in Parana, Brazil, at IN
tervals of about thirty years ana
in Chile at intervals from fifteen
to twenty-five years. 1t has
been discovered that these plaques
in the cultivated lands follow
the ripening and decay OF the
dominant species of bamboo ~
each country. The ripening OF
the seed furnishes for two or
more years a favorite food forI
rats in the forests where
the animals multiply great
ly. When this food fails, they
are forced to the cultivated lands
for subsistence. In 1878 almost
the whole crops of corn, rice, and
mandioca in the State of Parana
were destroyed by rats, causing
a serious famine.
An invasion Of rats (Mus rat
tus) in the Bermuda Islands oc-
Cured about the year l6lo.
Within two years they had In
creased SO alarmingly that none
of the islands was free from
them. The rodents "devoured
everything that came in their
way-fruits, plaits, and even
trees so that for a year or two
the people were nearly destitute
Of food. A law was passed re-
quiring every man in the islands
to keep IL traps set. In spite OF
all efforts the animals continued
to increase, until finally they dis
appeared SO suddenly that they
must have been victims of a pesti-
lence.
Food Of Rats.
Instead of being strictly herbi-
vorous, as might be inferred from
their dentition, rats are practi
cally omnivorous.
The bill of fare of the rat in
cludes grains and seeds of every
kind, -four, meal, and all food
products made from them; fruits
and garden vegetables; mush-
rooms; bark Of growing trees;
bulbs, roots, stems, leaves, and
flowers of herbaceous plants;
eggs, chicks, ducklings, squads,
and young rabbits; milk, butter,
and cheese; fresh meat and car
rion; mice rats, fish, frogs, mol
lusks, and crustaceans. This
great variety of food explains the
ease with which rats maintain
themselves in almost any environ
ment.
Feeding Habits.
Rats resemble squirrels in the
manner of holding food while
eating. As soon as they have
separated a small portion of food
from a larger mass, they sit up,
arching the back and holding the
morsel in the paws and turning it
as q squirrel does. After eating,
they brush the mouth and fore
parts, including. the whisksrs
(vibrissae), with the paws until
all are clean. Rats drink much,
water, q habit often taken adj
vantage of in placing traps or
poisons for them.
Rats generally feed. after sum
set, but in places where they. are
not often disturbed they come out
and feed in broad day and veen
in the sunshine.