324 Rats and tJie Balance of Nature, [Sess. 



to fields and hedgerows, and burrowing like rabbits ; and what 

 are the best means of getting rid of them — are questions de- 

 manding immediate attention. Thirty years ago, at the age 

 of thirteen, I began life as a gamekeeper in one of the finest 

 agricultural districts in Berwickshire. My principal duty was 

 that of kennel boy, but the trapping of rats and other vermin 

 filled up my spare time. I frequently observed, on going into 

 the boiler-house with a light, that a larcje number of rats 

 always scuttled into the holes, or into the furnace and up the 

 chimney. The first time I saw them go into the latter place, 

 I thought I would make short work of some of them by put- 

 ting in a wisp of straw and setting fire to it. This, however, 

 was a failure, as the rats evidently had an exit from the chim- 

 ney to more congenial quarters. Besides the furnace there 

 were about a dozen holes in the boiler-house, and I thought 

 that if by some process the holes could be sinmltaneously 

 stopped up when the rats were out, a rare capture would be 

 made. By an ingenious contrivance I was able so to arrange 

 certain boards operating by communication with a cord outside, 

 which, being properly set, could, by pulling the cord at the out- 

 side — pretty much as country boys are in the habit of catching 

 birds during a snowstorm by the use of a riddle — fall down 

 close to the wall, thereby cutting off the rats' possible retreat. 

 The experiment on the first occasion was a perfect success. 

 After pulling the cord, I obtained a lantern and gently opened 

 the door a short distance, and discovered that there were several 

 dozens of rats running about the floor in wild excitement. 

 Having secured the door, I obtained the co-operation of one 

 of the keepers, and taking with us a fox-terrier we went inside, 

 and in an incredible short space of time upwards of fifty rats 

 were killed. This incident quickly established my reputation 

 as a rat-catcher, although I must confess my next experiment 

 was by no means other than a failure. This incident reveals 

 a peculiarity in the rat tribe, and one with which all rat- 

 catchers are familiar. You may on the first experiment at rat- 

 catching be very successful, but it will invariably be found that 

 such are the instincts of the rat, that however well conceived 

 the device, it is not a game that can be played twice in the 

 same quarter with the same amount of success. On such 

 occasions the rats immediately betake themselves to other 



