The daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Leflore Co., Miss.) 1916-1919, 1919-04-26
Rats Great Pest
In City Greenwood

Inc rat Is national liability. He
is the most destru tive of all pests.
The value CT what ne actually con-
sumes is small compa ed to what he
pollutes and ruins or further use. It
takes the labor Of 200,OOO men work
ing ten hours a dag co feed the rate
in America. The value of the grain
alone destroyed by him in this coun-
try in 1918 was $500, 100000. The
food that he consumes in America ev-
cry yeSr would be sufficient to feed
the entire Belgian nation. It is high
time for the country to organize it
self against such an enemy.
AS serious as the rat is a destroyer
of property he is still more serious
as carrier of disease. 1t has been
clearly proved that the medium
by which the dread Bubonic Plague is
transmitted. The plague is a germ
that lives On the body of the rat.
Should such a disease ever gain a
foothold in America it would most
certainly be more deadly even than
the influenza. In The last plague that
visited India and which was finally
stopped in 1907 it is estimated that
no less than 5,25O,00O people died 1t
has been pretty generally agreed
among authorities on such subjects
that it was the same plague that
swept Europe about the middle of the
14th century under the name of the
Black Death, and which claimed 25,-
100000 victims in few years time.
Zone half the people of Italy were
killed by it. Whole villages and
towns were left without living in
habitant, and the cattle ranged at
will among the unharvested fields"
The Second Year Science Class of
the high school has been making a
careful study of rats. They have
learned these facts about them and
have also sought an effective remedy.
AS with all other pests the s1rest
remedy is to destroy their breeding
places. They make their nests under
the floors of barns, in the walls of
houses and in sewers. Many farm
er had rid his place of rats by SIM
ply putting concrete floors in his
barns. Where it is not practicable
to put in concrete floors the barns
may be made rat proof by the use of
strong poultry wire around the foun-
dations.
Traps may assist somewhat in solv-
ing the problem. OF these the gillo-
tine trap, which is simply a strong
spring attached to a board, is best.
But the wire trap may be used to
advantage if care is taken.
Among poisons may be mentioned,
strychnine, PHOSPHORUS, arsenic and
barium carbonate. Of these strych-
nine is of doubtful value because it
kills the rats so quickly that they die
in the walls of the house. Phosph-
orous is not good on account of the
danger of fire resulting from it. Ar
senic is the most popular because it
is the cheapest but barium carbonate
possesses several advantages over it.
The former has a bitter taste which
gives the rates warning and they will
sometimes not eat the food on which
it is placed Furthermore arsenic does
not always kill, and if one eats it
without being killed he is generally
shrewd enough never to touch it again
Barium carbonate is tasteless and q
small quantity is always fatal to
rats.
The class conducted two expert
ments Tor destroying rats. In one OF
or the method Of fumigation. It waz
repeEted that rates were making in
~ npon the meat supply Of res
N1n IN West Greenwood. The class
visited the place and undertook to de-
stroy the rats. The meat WAS kept il
anaa1l clubhouse. The rats. haf
taininx i and bad ruin1d ham. Ths
eaass enn - work - plecing sonx
a q - Nl,ess