138 THE BEGINNER IN POULTRY 



of this writing, says : " One of our cats is the greatest 

 ratter we ever saw." Were she yours, would you keep 

 her, as being the lesser of two evils? I have known one 

 cat, with five kits to feed, to kill $75 worth of fine poul- 

 try in a single season. 



This, as other questions, narrows finally to man's un- 

 derstanding of the animals under his care. For, if he 

 understands their nature and habits of " mind," he can 

 usually bend them to his will. A good mouser and rat- 

 ter is not so likely to need to catch birds, but it may be 

 that the hunting instinct is strong. Nevertheless, a 

 hunting kitten can be taught that the chickens are under 

 the protection of her master, just as she, herself, is. A 

 few sharp scoldings, or a drubbing, if need be, will grave 

 this lesson on her consciousness. Then, with proper 

 care, she will be all right. But if you feed her chicken 

 heads and waste, how can you wonder, and why should 

 you — hozu dare yon — complain if she goes farther and 

 takes the bodies also .■" If you allow your hens to lay 

 soft-shelled eggs which break easily, how dare you blame 

 them for becoming egg eaters 1 Look to yourself, dear 

 Sir — or Madam. Is not your judgment given you for 

 the very purpose of helping you to avoid such obvious 

 errors, and to fix your dominion over the loiver animals ? 



The rat, however, is in a class by himself. He is an 

 enemy to man from the ages. And, now that we know 

 that he carries and distributes the dreaded bubonic plague 

 throughout the world (even crossing the ocean with it, 

 as a stowaway), and has passed it on to the squirrels in 

 some places, we need to impress it fully on our minds 

 that he is an enemy to be feared and fought to the finish. 

 The extreme suspicion and the intelligence of the rat 



