198 
THE RAT. 
some cases, it is nearly half gone ; and in others, there is 
scarcely a bushel of corn in the whole rick. ' This is no 
uncommon occurrence, and is too well known to nearly 
every farmer in the British dominions. 
There is an old proverb, and a very true one, which says, 
" that if you want anything well done, there is nothing like 
doing it yourself" So thought ready-money'd Jack, who 
was his own rat-catcher. He told me he never did a day's 
work in his life ; all he ever did, was to give orders, 
destroy the vermin, and attend the markets ; and by these 
means he became a rich man. 
CHAPTER YIII. 
GOLDEN RULES FOR FARMERS. 
Rule 1. — If a farmer would grow rich, let him be his own 
rat-catcher, and never let a rat rest till he has killed it. 
Though it shall cost him a day's pay, it will be pounds in his 
pocket. 
Rule 2. — A live rat in the barn eats money — while a 
dead one in the dung-heap makes money ; and remember 
this, that the death of a rat cuts off all the expenses of a 
worthless, hungry, multiplying family. 
Rule 3. — If a farmer would sooner raise ricks than rats, 
let him down with his hedges, fill up his ditches, and drive 
the ploughshare through the rat preserves ; and instead of 
rats, grow corn. But if he would turn rats into gold, let 
him fatten the soil with their carcasses, and he shall reap a 
golden harvest. 
Here I would observe, that the average loss of land in 
hedges and ditches is estimated at one acre in twenty-five ; 
that is, eight acres of loss on a farm of two hundred. But 
even in a closely-cultivated county, five acres have been 
gained, on a farm of two hundred and three acres, by rooting 
up the hedges. 
Rule 4. — The old proverb says, " look after the pence, and 
the pounds will take care of themselves." But the fourth 
