A PLAGUE OF RATS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 171, 18 January 1912, Page 8

A PLAGUE OF RATS.

= Canton, one of the largest districts of Cardiff, is .pestered by rats, which swarm e everywhere an eat everything. Counters r and shelves in grocers' shops, meat at . butchers' cellars and kitchens, and even ' bedrooms are not safe. Terrified families hide their heads under the bedclothes at night lest a stray rat pounces on their faces, and children are panic-stricken. This went on for over a week, and a ' great public protest against the inactiv-[ ity of the authorities in leaving the residents to fight the evil alone is suggested. At a. dairy shop one big rat was found to have dined so well that it was too fat to re-enter its hiding-place. "That cat is worth 10s a week to me," said a trades- J man to a Daily Chronicle correspondent.? "The rats used to climb on the shelves, est my jams, spoil my bacon and hams, and play havoc with my cheese. I put my average weekly loss at 10s, but since I've hadi that cat the rats have gone." of rats were seen holding high revel in a shop late at night, whilst policemen and late workers looked through the window. A rat was seen pushing an egg with its paws towards its hole. "One day," said the shopkeeper, I was startled by a stream of water rushing through the walls. X discovered that the rats had eaten through the lead water pipes."