2OO OUR HOME PETS 



tains quite an army of cats, more than three 

 hundred, it is said, for use in the Post-office 

 Department. The duty of these public serv- 

 ants is to preserve postal matter and mail- 

 bags from rats and mice, which they do most 

 effectually, because they are kept in good con- 

 dition by proper feeding. Each postmaster in 

 the larger cities is allowed a proper sum in 

 some cases as much as forty dollars a year 

 for " cat meat." Before cats were taken into 

 service great loss was sustained from the teeth 

 of the rodents, who thought nothing of boring 

 through a pile of bags and letters in a single 

 night. 



