[THE RAT CRUSADE.]
The crusade against rats, begun in Norway a few years ago, is gradually extending over the world. For many months San Francisco has been waging remorseless warfare upon the rodent dwellers of the city, and several hundred thousand of the pests have been destroyed. The persons who are active in directing the slaughter predict that if the other cities of the State can be induced to assist, California can be entirely cleared of rats in the course of a couple of years.
Long ago scientists proved that the rat family is one of the worst enemies of mankind. By nature the rat is an unclean animal, and, dwelling in multitudes as it does, in the most populous parts of cities, it is a constant menace to public health. Microscopic examination of fresh rat hides invariably reveals myriads of disease germs. Almost every contagion known to the medical profession may be communicated, or, rather, is communicated, to persons living in rat-infested neighborhoods.
The methods employed by the San Francisco rat-hunters are simple, inexpensive, and most effective. Traps are being used, but ferrets and terriers are most frequently employed. A ferret is started into the burrow of a rat community, while three or four dogs are kept in leash without. The tiny ferret explores the galleries of the house, sometimes chasing a dozen or more rats into the open. Then begins the work of the dogs. The ferret is a bloodthirsty little creature, and is held in terror by most animals of several times his size. Three or four diminutive ferrets and a half-dozen trained terriers will destroy several hundred rats in a day.
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