﻿PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOURTH 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  MEETING 
  175 
  

  

  and 
  snakes. 
  The 
  occupied 
  burrows 
  can 
  easily 
  be 
  distinguished 
  by 
  the 
  

   presence 
  near 
  their 
  mouths 
  of 
  freshly 
  outturned 
  soft 
  earth 
  with 
  the 
  

   foot 
  prints 
  of 
  the 
  rats 
  on 
  it. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  very 
  difficult 
  to 
  state 
  accurately 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  adult 
  rats 
  that 
  

   live 
  in 
  one 
  hole. 
  The 
  fields 
  were 
  observed 
  when 
  being 
  watered, 
  and 
  as 
  

   many 
  as 
  five 
  to 
  seven 
  could 
  be 
  counted 
  coming 
  out 
  of 
  one 
  burrow 
  but 
  

   during 
  the 
  poisoning 
  experiments, 
  if 
  the 
  rats 
  died 
  outside, 
  generally 
  one 
  

   or 
  two 
  were 
  found 
  near 
  the 
  mouths. 
  

  

  The 
  rat 
  is 
  an 
  omnivorous 
  animal 
  feeding 
  on 
  all 
  sorts 
  of 
  food 
  available. 
  

   It 
  destroys 
  grain 
  in 
  every 
  stage, 
  in 
  the 
  stock, 
  granary, 
  bins, 
  mill, 
  ship- 
  

   hold, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  grain 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  sown 
  and 
  is 
  germinating. 
  It 
  is 
  

   famous 
  for 
  its 
  mischievous 
  nature 
  and 
  takes 
  to 
  its 
  burrow 
  anything, 
  

   edible 
  or 
  otherwise, 
  that 
  comes 
  in 
  the 
  way. 
  During 
  the 
  last 
  four 
  months 
  

   (September-December 
  1920) 
  among 
  other 
  things, 
  soft 
  cotton, 
  paper, 
  

   silk 
  and 
  cotton 
  cloths 
  have 
  been 
  recovered 
  from 
  their 
  homes. 
  They 
  

   not 
  only 
  directly 
  cause 
  injury 
  to 
  grains 
  and 
  standing 
  crops, 
  by 
  eating 
  

   them 
  up, 
  but 
  spoil 
  ten 
  times 
  the 
  amount 
  that 
  they 
  actually 
  consume, 
  

   by 
  cutting 
  the 
  roots 
  and 
  thus 
  felling 
  the 
  whole 
  plant, 
  spreading 
  cotton 
  

   on 
  dirty 
  ground, 
  etc. 
  They 
  dig 
  holes 
  in 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  canal 
  'khah 
  and 
  

   cause 
  heavy 
  losses, 
  by 
  making 
  water 
  run 
  where 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  wanted 
  and 
  thus 
  

   spoil 
  the 
  crop 
  and 
  waste 
  the 
  water 
  as 
  well. 
  It 
  is 
  possible 
  that 
  canal 
  

   breaches 
  are 
  sometimes 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  this 
  animal. 
  After 
  rain 
  one 
  can 
  

   easily 
  see 
  the 
  damage 
  done 
  by 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  roads 
  on 
  the 
  canal 
  bank. 
  Some 
  

   of 
  the 
  pits 
  that 
  appear 
  are 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  its 
  activities. 
  

  

  Rats 
  cause 
  havoc 
  both 
  to 
  the 
  spring 
  and 
  autumn 
  crops. 
  Wheat 
  

   grains 
  are 
  its 
  favourite 
  food. 
  When 
  the 
  grains 
  are 
  sown 
  this 
  animal 
  

   comes 
  out 
  at 
  night 
  and 
  eats 
  up 
  the 
  seed. 
  In 
  Sargodha 
  district 
  during 
  

   the 
  last 
  winter, 
  the 
  poor 
  farmers 
  had 
  to 
  sow 
  twice 
  or 
  thrice 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  

   crop. 
  However, 
  when 
  seeds 
  have 
  once 
  germinated, 
  there 
  is 
  very 
  little 
  

   danger 
  unless 
  there 
  is 
  absolutely 
  nothing 
  else 
  for 
  the 
  rats 
  to 
  eat. 
  

  

  Cotton. 
  This 
  crop 
  also 
  suffers 
  a 
  good 
  deal. 
  At 
  Rakh 
  Pindi 
  Jalal 
  

   (Hafizabad 
  District), 
  some 
  burrows 
  in 
  the 
  cotton 
  fields 
  were 
  dug 
  open 
  

   and 
  from 
  every 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  was 
  recovered 
  four 
  to 
  ten 
  chittacks 
  of 
  cotton 
  

   which 
  was 
  being 
  used 
  to 
  make 
  their 
  nests 
  warm 
  and 
  soft. 
  The 
  rats 
  

   had 
  torn 
  the 
  lint 
  to 
  get 
  at 
  the 
  seeds 
  whose 
  contents 
  had 
  been 
  eaten 
  up. 
  

   The 
  cotton 
  thus 
  spoiled 
  of 
  its 
  seed 
  is 
  absolutely 
  useless, 
  for 
  ginning 
  pur- 
  

   poses. 
  

  

  Sugarcane 
  is 
  a 
  choice 
  food 
  of 
  this 
  animal. 
  Its 
  pulpy 
  base 
  under 
  

   the 
  soil 
  is 
  gnawed, 
  with 
  the 
  result 
  that 
  the 
  canes 
  fall 
  down 
  and 
  dry 
  up. 
  

   As 
  many 
  as 
  30 
  out 
  of 
  100 
  were 
  once 
  found 
  damaged 
  this 
  way. 
  

  

  Maize 
  like 
  wheat, 
  suffers 
  heavily 
  before 
  germination. 
  In 
  this 
  case, 
  

   too, 
  sowing 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  rendered 
  impossible 
  sometimes. 
  While 
  after 
  

  

  