68 



NEIGHBORS WITH CLAWS AND HOOFS. 



rats if undisturbed for three years would increase to more 

 than 650,000 ! 



Eats feeding. 



5. Every man's hand and foot is against a rat : little 

 dogs bark at the sound of his squeal, little boys shout 

 when he is caught ; little girls hold him in fear equal to 

 that of the rattlesnake ; and young ladies climb chairs at 

 mention of his name. Traps, dogs, cats, ferrets, poison, 

 are all used to rid the world of him ; and yet he keeps 

 his place in the household, nibbles the rich man's cheese, 

 the farmer's corn, the sailor's biscuit, forces his way into 

 palace and hovel, and shares alike the rice of the Hindoo 

 and the winter stores of the Norwegian. 



6. In cities the rat communities vastly outnumber the 

 human population. Their streets are the underground 

 sewers, and through these they pass securely from one 

 part of the city to another. From them they enter cellars 



