398 Biology in America 



stroyed more than enough corn to pay taxes on 400 acres 

 of land/ 



' * The destruction of feed stuffs by rats is a serious loss not 

 only on the farm but in almost every city and village in the 

 whole country. Often through carelessness or the indiffer- 

 ence of servants, the bin or barrel in which feed is kept is 

 left uncovered, and rats fairly swarm to the nightly feast. 

 In some cases investigated in Washington, D. C., the loss was 

 equal to 5 or 10 per cent of the grain bought. A grocer was 

 buying feed for two horses and several hundred rats; the 

 horses were fed at regular intervals, the rats nearly all the 

 time. In the cases of establishments keeping from fifty to 

 a hundred horses, the loss of feed in the course of a year 

 often amounts to a large item. 



"Rats destroy also many eggs both on farms and in cities. 

 Fresh as well as incubated eggs are eaten by these rodents. 

 Commission men and grocers complain much of depredations 

 upon packed eggs. Those at the top of a case are broken by 

 these animals, and parts of the yolks run down and stain the 

 unbroken ones. Often, however, rats carry away eggs with- 

 out breaking them, and display much ingenuity in getting 

 them over obstacles, as up or down a stairway. On a level 

 surface the rat rolls the egg before him, but he can easily 

 carry it between a paw and his neck and chin, while going 

 upon three legs. 



"A commission merchant in Washington relates that he 

 once stored in his warehouse 100 dozen eggs in a wooden tub 

 with a lid of boards nailed on. Rats gnawed a hole through 

 the tub at the top and carried away all but 28% dozen, leav- 

 ing no shells or stains to show that any had been broken. . . . 



"Rats are very destructive to tame pigeons, attacking es- 

 pecially young squabs, but destroying eggs, also. They often 

 show great cunning in finding entrances to the cages. A 

 fancier residing in Washington, D. C., missed many of his 

 squabs and was satisfied that the only opening by which an 

 animal could enter was the exit at the top of the flying cage. 

 He closed the opening and set a trap there, in which he caught 

 a large rat. The animal had climbed the wire netting on the 

 outside and descended it on the inside to reach the pigeons." 



And all these like so many other losses, are largely the re- 

 sult of ignorance or carelessness. 



Not only are these destroyers living at our expense, but 

 many of them are repaying our indulgence by spreading dis- 

 ease among man and beast. We shall see elsewhere how the 

 rat, and to a lesser extent, the ground squirrel in California 

 are a constant menace to our health, while in many of the 



Lantz, "The Brown Rat in the United States/' pp. 18-23. 



