THE GRAY EAT. 305 



those rats living in granaries, wheat-stacks, and 

 such places do damage averaging out at 7s. 6d. 

 per rat ; rats living in book-shops, hotels, furni- 

 ture-stores, &c. probably do a great deal more, 

 but this is liberally offset by the swarms of 

 country rats that in summer do very little damage 

 at all. 



IN AMERICA. 



It is estimated that fires in America due 

 to defective insulation of electric cables cost the 

 country 3,000,000 per annum, and it is defi- 

 nitely proved that the majority of these fires are 

 caused by the gnawing propensities of the gray 

 rat. Fires are also produced by rats gnawing lead 

 gas-pipes, and many disasters have occurred through 

 their activities in this line. One American authority 

 estimates that it costs large towns, such as Balti- 

 more and Washington, four millions annually to 

 maintain their rat battalions ; and it must be borne 

 in mind that, owing to the construction of American 

 buildings, fires are a far more potent peril there 

 than in this country. 



In addition to gnawing cables, gas-pipes, books, 

 and valuable ivories, rats have been known to 

 gnaw the teats of pigs and goats, the feet of small 

 children, and to destroy sucking-pigs and even 

 calves. Nothing, indeed, not even man himself, 

 is secure from them. In the main sewers of 

 London it is customary for men to work in pairs, 

 as owing to the size and numbers of the rats it is 

 deemed unsafe for the workmen to venture singly 

 into these dim corridors. Shelves and runways 

 are provided for the rats, as at one time it was 

 considered that they were of value as scavengers, 

 though now it is generally realised that even amidst 



W.A. T 



