The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-08-12

plague you must not only wage a war
OF absolute determination upon the
rat but you must also trace the disease
among the rodent population and
prevent its being tran united TO man,
To exterminate the rodents you
must take into consideration every
single factor OF their existence.
The first thing is TO cut off the
rats food supply This implies a
clean household both inside and out
side II does not mean that the REM
nants of the meals are merely out
OF sight ar that the refuse from
the stables can be thrown into an
uncovered bin. but II means that all
foods which might tempt the rat shall
be rendered inaccessible by the use
OF metal containers or metal screen
ing.
Once YOU have done this it Is easy
to Kill the rats off by using poisons,
1t has been my observation that
prosperous paste is one Of the best
poisonous agents. 1t shines al night
and the rats seem to like liz taste
and odor. Another advantage il has
is that 1t deterioates. hence you are
not likely to XIII an animal you never
intended 10 harm couple OF years
after you put the poison out. Ne mat .
FER what kind OF poison is used II
must be put out carefully So that chill
dren and domestic animals VIII not
come in contact with ii,
In order to trace the course OF the
disease in rats ii is necessary 10 OBJ
! tain Samples # the rodent f7etstilA =
ton. To do this two kinds Of traps
are used--the large wire cage trap
and the smaller snap trap. The cage
tran has the advantage that ii takes
the rats alive and thus permits scien-
tiac Investigate ton Of the feas upon
their bodies In this connection 1t
may be stated that In San Francisco
and Porto Rico many careful studies
are being made Of the different species
Of heas.
Requires Intelligence,
1t requires just as much ,nt@lit-
gence and care to trap rats az II does
| to trap mink or otter. The rat bait
should be firmly attached 10 the
trap, the trap must be placed in the
runway Of the rat. The surroundings
must be changed as little as possible
! and every precaution taken to pre-
vent frightening the quarry Tim.
and abor are required to train rat
1 trappers, And peculiar combination
, OF skill and patience In necessary 10
produce IA good rodent hunter.
| All captured rats must be tagged
TO show where, when and how and
! by whom they are captured. They arc
| thcr taken to laboratory and exam
| ined by "A skilled corps OF officers
| for evidence Of disease.
| The captured rats are first enersee.
| in an antsaptie solution to XIII the
| heas Next a tacker affixes the rat
| to shingle, The shingie is then
| given number SO that even If the
tag is lost the identity or the rat re-
! mains established.
| Examining the Rats.
| Next the rat is passed TO the skiu-
| uer who with a pair of forcepS In
| one hand a sharp sea lpel in the nther,
reflects the skin from the abdomen
! OF the rat and looks at the arnlpits
| and gr'oins for enlarged glands. ~
| then opens the body and looks for
| other evidences of disease 1t is re-
markable how skiliful these laborers
become in recognizing plague. leprosy
! and the host of other disease which
affect rats.
! Next the rats are gone over care
| fully by an officer who has been train
| ed In a hygienic laboratory in the
! recognition of this disease. should he
| find anything suspicious he makes
the bacte geological cultures necessary
10 ablish or dfsprove his diagnosis
! Suppose that plague infected rat
| IL found, the field force 10 immediate
~ notified and the district from which
! the infected animal came is subiected
! to thorough cleaning and deratI-
| ration.
These are the measures that have
been put In force in Porto Rico and
| jr Puerta De Terra. Large numbers
! OF nnsa nitary buildings have also beer
destroyed. others have been rat proof
ed by the use OF imps rvious material
! such as concrete ana sheet iron. and
still others have been raised in this
air SO as to allow easy access to the
! cat and the dog. the natural enemie.
Of the rat T1--~ .- - .ss.