Fifty-six Million Rats.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 9, 26 August 1908, Page 60

Fifty-six Million Rats.

WAR ON PESTS WHICH COST £1 A YEAR EACH. The war on rats and other vermin is to begin in real earnest in England on October 1. On that date the Society for the Destruction of Vermin, of which Sir James Crichton-Browne is president, will initiate competitions among all the existing sparrow and rat clubs, which they hope to organise into one body. “All clubs with a membership of twenty will be eligible for the competitions.” an official of the society told an "Express” representative. "The club which kills the greatest number of rats in twelve months will receive a prize of ten guineas, and there will be two other prizes of five and three guineas. In addition, there will be offered fifty prizes of one guinea each to individuals who can prove big bags. "No prize will lx 1 given to an individual who has destroyed fewer than SIX) rats. The entrance fee for clubs w ill be 10, -. “For the country clul.s there will be offered live prizes of ten guineas each and ten prizes of five guineas each for the fifteen clubs providing the largest 'bag ’ W e estimate that the champion el ub should show a bag of 10.00'J rats. “In our investigations we have taken the lowest possible basis. We estimate that there are fifty-six millions of acres under cultivation in the British Isles, and, merely for the sake of calculations, we put one rat on each acre. Each nit car. do one pound's worth of damage per annum. "In May next the Society will hold an exhibition in which will be shown not only the history of the war on rats, which dates back to ancient Egyptian and Etruscan times, but the most modern methods of exterminating these and other pests. We ourselves do not advocate any particular methods of extermination. We hope the exhibition .will do that for us.” J*