BROWN RAT. 247 



the dangerous consequences that might result to the 

 neighbourhood from suddenly depriving these vora- 

 cious vermin of their accustomed sustenance." The 

 report goes on to state that the carcases of the 

 horses killed in the course of a day (and sometimes 

 these amounted to thirty -five) are found the next 

 morning picked bare to the bone. Dusaussois has, 

 however, made a still more conclusive experiment. 

 A part of his establishment is enclosed by solid 

 walls, at the foot of which are several holes made 

 for the ingress and egress of the Rats. Into this 

 enclosure he put the carcases of two or three horses ; 

 and, towards the middle of the night, having first 

 cautiously, and with as little noise as possible, 

 stopped up all the holes, he got together several of 

 his workmen, each having a torch in one hand and 

 a stick in the other. Having entered the yard and 

 closed the door behind them, they commenced a 

 general massacre. It was not necessary to take 

 any aim, for no matter how the blow was directed, 

 it was sure to immolate a Rat ; and those which 

 endeavoured to escape by climbing up the walls 

 were quickly knocked down. By a repetition of 

 this experiment, at intervals of a few days, he killed 

 in the space of a month 16,050 Rats. After one 

 night's massacre the dead amounted to 2650, and 

 the result of four hunts was 9101. Even this can 

 give but an imperfect idea of the number of these 

 vermin ; for the enclosure in which they were thus 

 killed contains not above the twentieth part of the 

 space over which the dead bodies of horses are 



