THE PEST OF RATS 31 
no reason why country slaughter-houses should 
not be as cleanly as are the abattoirs of a 
modern city. 
Disposal of dead rats. Finally, the bodies 
of dead rats should never be handled with the 
bare fingers, or thrown out to be eaten by dogs 
or pigs or other animals; for they may con- 
tain, as has been shown, the germs of dreadful 
diseases. They should be burned, or else 
turned to account by being buried at the foot 
of grape-vines or young trees, for which they 
will make an excellent fertilizer. 
Four-footed enemies of the rat. A word as 
to the assistance animals may give in killing 
off and keeping down the rats. How greatly 
the increase of all rodents is due to the destruc- 
tion of the various wild mammals, birds and 
reptiles, that prey upon them, will be shown 
hereafter. Hawks, owls, weasels and skunks 
dispose of a great number of rats in rural dis- 
tricts, and might take many more if they were 
permitted. Skunks in particular are a most 
valuable help in this direction—both the large 
northern skunks and the small spotted species 
of the South and West—and will, if allowed,’ 
