as Enemies of Mankind, 27 



essential, it extracts gold ; the other called " pure," quite unim- 

 portant, it extracts nothing but facts. 



The need for organization and co-operation in rat destruction 

 will appear from the following remarks. The table at p. 60, 

 be its figures right or wrong, fairly illustrates the working of the 

 principle by which the rat population increases in spite of the 

 enormous toll occasionally levied upon it by man. Many more 

 rats are born than can possibly survive ; many more survive than 

 can possibly breed. If A has premises, which cannot be or have 

 not been rendered absolutely rat-proof, in a rat-infested area, it is 

 perfectly useless for him to kill rats without the co-operation of 

 his neighbours B, C, and D ; the utmost reward for his trouble 

 and expense will be a little temporary relief. For in exterminating 

 his own rats he has created a vacancy for a corresponding portion 

 of the surplus rat population born on the property of his negligent 

 neighbours, and accordingly, in a very short time, A will acquire 

 a new stock of rats. A good instance of this is given us by the 

 officials of one of the great trading corporations of London. They 

 say that, in consequence of their unrelenting persecution and 

 continuous efforts to abolish all shelter for rats, comparatively few 

 of the animals are able to breed upon their premises ; in some of 

 their warehouses the numbers of rats caught tend to diminish from 

 year to year, in others they increase. They ascribe the increased 

 numbers to the action of certain local authorities, who permit large 

 rubbish dumps to be formed on lands adjoining the premises in 

 question. In these dumps rats breed in enormous numbers, and 

 for the most part they visit the warehouses merely in search of 

 food. Trapping in these places on a large scale no doubt saves 

 considerable losses of stores, but as regards the rat population its 

 only effect is to give a chance of living and breeding to many 

 individuals who otherwise would not have possessed such a chance. 



Further, the County Medical Officer of Health for East Suffolk, 

 reporting upon the steps taken by the county, urban, and rural 

 district councils in regard to the outbreak of rat-plague, says : — 

 " From all parts of the county we hear of the active work under- 

 taken by private individuals. A large amount of time and money 

 has been expended by them in the destruction of rats. They 

 make one complaint, a very pertinent one ; it is that their work is 

 of small permanent avail because of the apathy of their neighbours, 

 and this indifference is to be found in the close proximity of, and 

 even within, the areas where the infected animals have been found. 



