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Taranaki Daily News, 12 February 1919, Page 5

Discarding all extraneous aids, and relying solely on a quick eye and a pair of strong hands, an employee of a lJuiiedin grain and wool firm has acquired quite a reputation as a rat-killer. The plan adopted is very simple. Before the men stop work at night a high-sided truck which has brought in a line of chaff is run into the "gully" and left there for the rats to assemble. When the men come on next morning the system of attack is at once proceeded with. All the sacks of chaff are taken out of the truck, vvitli the exception of one at each corner. The rat-catcher then gets into the truck and the massacre starts. Cautiously lifting a sack the catcher observes a rat. A quick grab and a rat is almost simultaneously dashed against the side of the truck. The rats run from one sack to the other, and the escapes are practically nil. The "bag" on Friday morning was 35—of all i sizes. One only managed to get out of the truck, and it was dispatched l>y an onlooker with a 'broom. The catcher jvery seldom gets bitten, and appears to j 'revel in his self -appointed, task, '■<