100 FERRET FACTS AND FANCIES. 



in one night. Ferrets can be worked to great 

 advantage around chicken houses and yards. 

 They cannot catch chickens which are running 

 loose. There is no trouble along this line, yet it 

 is not to be expected that chickens and ferrets 

 could be kept in a box together. A pair of our 

 early spring ferrets will do a great deal of good 

 in keeping the rats away, even while the ferrets 

 are quite young. They will run through the 

 holes and chase the rats away. A good way to 

 start young ferrets is to put mice in their pens 

 for them to kill and eat. As soon as they handle 

 mice, young rats may be put in their pens. If 

 the rats are too large they should be crippled so 

 the young ferrets can easily kill them. They 

 will soon get so they can kill any rat, and then 

 they are ready to take out for a rat hunt. We 

 have had ferrets only five months old handle 

 large rats." 



In response to an inquiry from St. Nicholas 

 magazine, Mr. Cline, Superintendent of Con- 

 struction of the Central Union Telephone Com- 

 pany of Indianapolis, Indiana, some years ago 

 wrote as follows regarding the use of ferrets in 

 laying telephone wires : 



"I beg to acknowledge receipt of your inquiry 

 concerning the use of a ferret in connection with 

 rodding our underground ducts, as we call it, 



