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rat proof if it has an elevation of 2 feet with clear underpinning, pro- 

 vided the floor is rendered impervious 'to falling grain. Barns of 

 larger extent are best made rat proof by concrete flooring tight on 

 the ground, and the area walls should be of concrete 1 foot high or 

 of galvanized iron of standard thickness. The ingredients of con- 

 crete should be specified as to quality and quantity. 



The windows of stables should be screened, especially if black rats 

 be present. To render a large livery stable rat proof, however, is 

 hardly practicable, owing to doors being open almost continuously, 

 but rat proofing even in such' buildings will destroy rat harborage 

 and limit rat invasions to an occasional migratory rodent. With 

 concrete flooring and protected feed pens it should be an easy task 

 to keep such a building free from rats. 



Finally, manure pens should be rat proof or the manure thrown 

 into the corner of the rat-proof stable, provided there is frequent 

 cartage. 



RAT-PROOFING ORDINANCES SHOULD BE SPECIFIC. 



Any law .or ordinance providing for rat proofing should specifically 

 state the minimum thickness of concrete and cement. Concrete 4 

 inches deep with one-half inch dressing of cement or 1-inch asphalt 

 answers very well. Area walls if of concrete should be 6 inches 

 thick, and the floors should have sufficient slant to allow drainage. 



Any expedient as galvanized iron sunk into the ground and made 

 flush with the flooring will not prove of practical value, as it allows 

 rat-harboring space to exist beneath the flooring, and sooner or later 

 rats will gain access thereto by burrowing under the iron gratings or 

 through the wooden flooring. 



Meat markets should have concrete floors with cement or asphalt 

 dressing, the floors to be close on the ground and surrounded by 

 properly constructed foundation walls of stone or brick in cement. 

 Water-tight metal cans should be provided for all scraps, and espe- 

 cially for the sawdust with its admixture of fine pieces of meat. 



Bakeries and restaurant kitchens should be treated in the same 

 way as meat markets. Packing houses, slaughter pens, warehouses, 

 and food depots in general should be concreted. 



The water front demands the greatest attention. The piers and 

 wharves should be of concrete or steel construction. The shipping 

 should be shored off from the dock, and all lines properly rat guarded. 

 When not in use, gang planks should be lifted. Notwithstanding 

 these precautions, rats will be imported from time to tune, and the 

 only practical way to prevent their getting ashore will be the sytematic 

 and routine fumigation of ships by the quarantine authorities. 



The rat proofing of sewers is open to argument. Of all places in a 

 city the sewer is certainly the one where rats can die with the least 



