32 



Rats and Mice 



upon the wire, and its existence is suddenly terminated. Boelter 

 states that the London sewers in the neighbourhood of Soho 

 are now free from rats because of the quantities of petrol which 

 find their way into the drains from the motor works of that 

 locality. 



Besides petrol, the following substances can be introduced 

 into burrows and runs to induce rats to exchange secure 

 quarters for those in which they can be more readily attacked : — ■ 

 Gas tar, chloride of lime, caustic potash, strong solutions of 

 ferrous sulphate ; thin whitewash may be poured into burrows ; 

 and freshly-slaked lime placed dry in the burrows or runs is 

 effective. 



In the Country, preventive measures of the kind suggested 

 above for towns should be adopted whenever and wherever an 

 opportunity presents itself. Stacks should always be made rat- 

 proof where possible ; this may be done by building them upon a 

 platform supported on piles ; the platform should be raised at least 

 3 feet from the ground, and the piles should be furnished with 

 metal rat-guards of at least 4 feet in diameter. Efforts should be 

 made to render farm-buildings, stables, cow-houses, barns, 

 slaughter-houses, mills, and rural railway stations rat-proof ; and 

 great attention should always be paid to the necessity of keeping 

 the food supplies of domestic animals from contact with rats. 

 Preventive measures are naturally far more difficult in the country 

 than in the towns ; nevertheless, they are important, and where- 

 ever they can be adopted they will amply repay the expense and 

 trouble involved. 



On the other hand, destruction of rats is comparatively 

 simple in the rural districts and far less costly ; for instance, each 

 rat taken by one London body costs on an average Is. 8(i., while 

 in Haddingtonshire the average cost was only 3|t?. ; but as 

 pointed out above, the destruction must be general and carried 

 out with the approval and co-operation of all. Well-organised 

 rat clubs or the payment of well-chosen premiums will no doubt 

 do great good in securing the services of the younger and the 

 poorer inhabitants. But every landowner and farmer should 

 recognize that it is his duty, in his own interests no less than in 

 those of the community, to kill the rats and destroy their breeding 

 haunts on his property or holding ; that if he fails in this duty 

 he simply negatives the results obtained by his more enlightened 

 neighbours. 



