308 THE GRAY RAT. 



rat-proof by cementing up all the holes in the walls. 

 Leave the door open two or three nights, and 

 feed the rats in the chamber with some food 

 they cannot carry away and store. When it is 

 evident that the rat population has become accus- 

 tomed to gathering there after nightfall, secure a 

 string to the door in such a way that it can be 

 slammed -to from a suitable distance. The rats 

 having thus been trapped, they can be left im- 

 prisoned till daylight, when terriers are introduced 

 to do their work. 



Another excellent plan is one which was recently 

 practised in a Liverpool warehouse, and with such 

 effect that the refuse-collectors finally refused to 

 handle any more dead rats from this particular 

 warehouse. An iron tank, containing about eight 

 inches of water and of suitable size, was covered 

 over with a sheet of strong, glazed paper. Imme- 

 diately above the tank, and about eight inches from 

 it, a dead hen was suspended from a beam along 

 which the rats were in the habit of running. 

 Everything being thus prepared, several long slits 

 were cut in the paper covering of the tank, so that, 

 while appearing solid, it was in reality a pitfall. 

 The rats that attempted to mount to the fowl by 

 the tank inevitably met their fate, while those 

 that climbed down from above naturally dropped 

 rather than attempt the difficult climb back. 

 Hundreds of huge rats were killed in this way, 

 and it would appear to be a thoroughly practical 

 method. 



BREEDING. 



Figures bearing upon the gray rat's powers of 

 reproduction create a sense of dazed paralysis in 

 the mind, and it need only be said that their rate 



