﻿21.— 
  SOME 
  OBSERVATIONS 
  ON 
  THE 
  CONTROL 
  OF 
  FIELD 
  RATS 
  

  

  IN 
  THE 
  PUNJAB. 
  

  

  By 
  M. 
  A. 
  HusAiN, 
  M.A. 
  (Cantab,), 
  Government 
  Entomologist, 
  Punjab, 
  

   and 
  Hem 
  Singh 
  Pruthi, 
  M.Sc, 
  Assistant 
  Professor 
  of 
  Entomology, 
  

   Punjab. 
  

  

  The 
  rat 
  is 
  recognized 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  serious 
  animal 
  pests 
  all 
  over 
  the 
  

   world. 
  While 
  in 
  almost 
  all 
  other 
  civilized 
  countries 
  there 
  are 
  various 
  

   organizations 
  like 
  Rat 
  Clubs, 
  Rat 
  Days, 
  etc., 
  to 
  keep 
  this 
  animal 
  down, 
  

   in 
  India, 
  whose 
  main 
  resources 
  lie 
  in 
  Agriculture, 
  very 
  few 
  people 
  have 
  

   tackled 
  this 
  problem 
  and 
  that 
  too 
  exclusively 
  from 
  a 
  sanitary 
  point 
  of 
  

   view. 
  

  

  The 
  population 
  of 
  this 
  pest 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  is 
  enormous 
  and 
  Major 
  

   Kunhardt's 
  estimate 
  of 
  800 
  millions 
  of 
  individuals 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  quite 
  

   modest. 
  As 
  regards 
  the 
  quantity 
  of 
  food 
  that 
  a 
  rat 
  eats 
  in 
  a 
  day, 
  it 
  

   has 
  been 
  observed 
  that 
  on 
  an 
  average 
  one 
  individual 
  consumes 
  about 
  

   one 
  chittack 
  of 
  wheat, 
  hence, 
  even 
  on 
  the 
  basis 
  of 
  Kunhardt's 
  estimate 
  of 
  

   the 
  rat 
  population, 
  this 
  pest 
  causes 
  an 
  annual 
  loss 
  of 
  9,125,000 
  maunds 
  

   of 
  grain, 
  worth 
  about 
  Rs. 
  456,250,000. 
  

  

  The 
  rat 
  that 
  generally 
  occurs 
  in 
  the 
  fields 
  of 
  the 
  Punjab 
  is 
  Gerbillus 
  

   indicus. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  pretty 
  animal 
  with 
  dark 
  brown 
  back, 
  and 
  white 
  belly. 
  

   Its 
  ears 
  are 
  thin 
  and 
  hairless, 
  eyes 
  prominent, 
  and 
  tail 
  long, 
  ending 
  in 
  a 
  

   pencil 
  of 
  black 
  hairs. 
  It 
  is 
  nocturnal 
  in 
  habits 
  and 
  is 
  very 
  rarely 
  seen 
  

   outside 
  its 
  burrow 
  durmg 
  dayhght. 
  

  

  A 
  rat 
  burrow 
  is 
  seldom 
  straight. 
  Often 
  it 
  is 
  circuitous 
  and 
  ingeniously 
  

   constructed. 
  It 
  is 
  provided 
  with 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  outlet 
  and 
  the 
  principal 
  

   entrance 
  has 
  several 
  (2-10) 
  small 
  inlets 
  which 
  sometimes 
  cover 
  an 
  area 
  

   of 
  15 
  square 
  yards 
  round 
  it. 
  

  

  The 
  number 
  of 
  rat 
  holes 
  in 
  an 
  acre 
  is 
  very 
  variable, 
  depending 
  chiefly 
  

   on 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  soil, 
  the 
  crop 
  growing, 
  the 
  mode 
  of 
  irrigation 
  and 
  the 
  

   period 
  elapsed 
  since 
  the 
  last 
  watering. 
  Burrows 
  are 
  more 
  numerous 
  in 
  

   sandy 
  and 
  loose 
  soil 
  than 
  elsewhere, 
  and 
  more 
  abundant 
  in 
  high 
  lands 
  

   and 
  borders 
  of 
  cultivated 
  fields, 
  where 
  irrigated 
  water 
  cannot 
  reach, 
  

   than 
  on 
  lowland. 
  Under 
  normal 
  cultivation, 
  the 
  canal 
  irrigated 
  areas 
  

   have 
  on 
  an 
  average 
  7, 
  well-irrigated 
  11, 
  and 
  ' 
  barani 
  ' 
  lands 
  2 
  to 
  4 
  

   burrows 
  per 
  acre. 
  Sometimes, 
  however, 
  the 
  number 
  is 
  very 
  large 
  ; 
  at 
  

   Chillianwala 
  (District 
  Gujrat) 
  for 
  instance 
  there 
  were 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  90 
  

   burrows 
  per 
  acre 
  in 
  some 
  uncultivated 
  and 
  deserted 
  fields. 
  

  

  All 
  the 
  burrows 
  are 
  generally 
  not 
  occupied 
  by 
  rats. 
  Some 
  30 
  per 
  

   cent, 
  are 
  often 
  deserted 
  and 
  are 
  inhabited 
  by 
  such 
  annuals 
  as 
  lizards 
  

  

  ( 
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  ) 
  

  

  