98 THE HOUSE FLY— DISEASE CARRIER 



bringing the two paws together on a fly and then feed- 

 ing it into its mouth." 



The observer watched it for some Httle time and 

 must have seen it catch more than one hundred flies. 

 Next morning the same performance was repeated, and 

 a large number of flies were captured. Moreover, a 

 second rat appeared during the time the observer was 

 watching the first one, and its methods w^ere the same. 

 Inquiry from the clerk at the hotel indicated that the 

 people of the hotel had noticed the rats engaged in this 

 occupation and had refrained from disturbing them. 



Mr. W. L. McAtee, recently, in looking over an old 

 file of The Rod and the Gun found the following item 

 in the number of September 25, 1875. It is quite be- 

 lievable in view of Doctor Evermann's personal ob- 

 servations : 



"Mr. C. B. Odell, at his hotel on Front Street, is the 

 happy owner of a fly exterminator, which, for thor- 

 ough work, is unsurpassed by anything we have ever 

 seen. In one of the windows facing Front Street, 

 where samples of his wares are occasionally shown, a 

 rat began several weeks since to make sly visits, and 

 secured a good meal as often as he came by catching 

 the many flies which are on the panes of glass. He 

 grew very expert at it, and though at first quite shy, 

 soon became emboldened when he found he was not 

 disturbed in his foraging expeditions, and would pur- 

 sue his business not in the least intimidated by spec- 

 tators, who were only separated from him by a pane 

 of glass. He obtained entrance to this window by 



