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the sick and the well as a preventive measure. Rat proofing in 

 plague is just as rational and necessary, but the financial expenditure 

 contemplated thereby has been of such proportion as to cause the 

 majority of sanitary authorities in different parts of the world to 

 dismiss the idea as impossible. 



To properly rat proof a city undeniably requires enormous expendi- 

 tures, but no antiplague campaign was ever waged without an 

 immense outlay of both money and labor. If allowed to progress 

 unchecked, however, plague, either through ravages of the popula- 

 tion or through commercial interference, is ruinous. To fight plague, 

 therefore, is the only alternative, and a costly campaign should be 

 anticipated and prepared for in advance. To merely put out traps 

 and poisons without the preliminary rat proofing required can be 

 productive of little good and no permanency. Such a plan of cam- 

 paign may be attractive because of its relative cheapness, but any 

 city or country that relies wholly on such measures is practicing 

 false economy and deferring the day of reckoning. 



It becomes evident, therefore, that rat proofing is of the greatest 

 value as an antiplague measure, and that practical results to be 

 expected are much greater than with any other method.. 



As has already been stated, the individual premises on which plague 

 either among rodents or human beings has occurred demand first 

 and immediate attention. The work should be extended as rapidly 

 as possible from the point of infection so as to include the entire 

 block and neighboring blocks. 



While the chief energies should be centered on plague-infected 

 foci, similar work should be carried on simultaneously throughout 



the city. 



METHODS OF RAT PROOFING. ^ 



If plague occurs in the grounds of dwellings the following course 

 should be pursued: All planked-over areas, including sidewalks, that 

 might possibly shelter a rat should be removed, leaving either bare- 

 ground or, at the option of the owner, gravel or concrete used, the 

 gravel being preferable. Small sheds should be elevated, or their 

 ground floors concreted. Wood sheds should probably be left with- 

 out flooring, wood kindling or other contents being piled on elevated 

 platforms provided for the purpose. Stables on the premises should 

 bo treated as indicated in a subsequent paragraph relating to these 

 structures. 



The garbage depository must be given most careful attention. It 

 should be a metal receptacle, preferably a galvanized can, water-tight 

 to prevent seepage which would attract rats, and there should be a 

 closely fitting lid. A can 2 feet in height without cover will not be 

 proof against the incursion of rats. 



The rat proofing of chicken yards is a difficult task as most chickens 

 in private families are fed on table scraps, thereby attracting and 



