STARTLING FACTS ON THE RAT.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 337, 12 July 1875, Page 3

STARTLING FACTS ON THE RAT.

One pair of rats, with their progeny, will produce in three years no less a number than 646,808 rats; which will consume, day by day, as much food as 64,680 men and leaving eight rats to starve. We will now proceed with the calculations. In the first place my informant tells me that rats will have six, seven, and eight nests of young in the year, and that for three and four years together ; secondly, that they will have from 12 to 23 at at a litter, and that the young ones will breed at three months old; thirdly, that there are more females than males, at an average of about ten to six. Now, I propose to lay down my calculations at something than less than one-half. In the first place, I say four litters in the year, beginning and ending with a litter, so making 13 litters in three years; secondly, -to have eight young ones at a birth, —half male and half female; thirdly, the young ones to have a litter at six months old. At the calculation I will take one pair of rats ; and at the expiration of thee years what do you suppose will be the number of living rats ? Why, no less a number than 646,808. Now let us calculate the amount of human food that they would destroy. In the first place, my informants tell me that six rats will consume, day by day, as much food as a man; secondly, that the thing has been tested, and that the estimate given was that eight rats would consume more than an ordinary man. Now, I—to place the thing beyond the smallest shadow of a doubt—will set set down ten rats to eat as much as a man—not a child; nor will I say anything about what rats waste. And what shall we find to be the alarming result*? Why, that the first pair of rats, with their three years' progeny, would consume in the night more food than 64,608 men the year round, and leaving eight rats to spare. When they run short of food, they will migrate hundreds in a drove to some neighbouring barn, granary, or what not, no matter where; for where corn is there will they resort, and no one thing is proof against them, save solid stone or metal.