[CONTENTS.]

PAGE.
[Introductory] 5
[The Ferret.]
I. [What a Ferret Is] 7
II. [Character and Appearance] 9
III. [Rat Hunting] 11
IV. [Food] 14
V. [Ferret Houses] 15
VI. [Diseases] 16
VII. [Hardiness] 17
VIII. [Breeding and Training] 19
IX. [Strength and Bite] 20
X. [Handling] 21
XI. [With Cats and Dogs] 21
XII. [Advantages as a Rat Exterminator] 22
XIII. [Miscellaneous] 23
[The Rat.]
I. [The Rat Family and its Varieties] 27
II. [Rat History] 27
III. [The King's Own Rat-Catcher] 29
IV. [Rat Society, Cannibalism, and Friendship] 30
V. [Multiplying Powers] 33
VI. [Unabridged Bill of Fare] 34
VII. [Ferocity] 35
VIII. [Rats in Breweries, Slaughter Houses, Markets, Stables, and Barn-yards] 36
IX. [Rats as Wine Drinkers] 38
X. [Destructiveness] 39
XI. [Rats as Food] 40
XII. [Rat Nests] 43
XIII. [The Rat's Musical Talents and Eyesight] 45
XVI. [Rats as Moralists] 46
XV. [Rats in the Good Old Days, and the Modern Rat Superstitions] 47
XVI. [Review of the Rat, and Conclusion] 49
[Rat Extermination.]
I. [Traps] 51
II. [Poisons] 54
III. [Dogs, Cats, and Ferrets] 56
IV. [Human Rat Catchers] 56
[The Origin of the Ferret], with hints to Darwin. 57

[INTRODUCTORY.]

In the following pages we have given a complete review of the ever-important rat exterminating subject, from a practical man's point of view. The essay on the Ferret has been exhaustively treated, is a special feature of the work, and will be found of great value to the rat-ridden part of the community, as well as to the fancier and naturalist. "The Rat" has been handled from a universal point of view, and the book has been prepared from the writer's practical notes during his thirty years' study of Rats and Rat Extermination.

[THE FERRET.]