er than three feet six
inches, and will have to be very hungry before doing that to obtain food.

Many people may not know how fierce Rats are when fighting. Let me
instance. I have often taken, one in each hand, two good Rats from my
cage before a hundred spectators and set the Rats at each other on the
top of a table. To see them fight would be surprising. They will fight
like two bulldogs. When they have got a grip of each other with their
teeth I have taken away my hands, and they have stuck and shook one
another for at least half-a-minute, although you must understand that the
moment they are loose of one another they are off if you don't catch them
again.

There are several other cunning ways of Rats which I can scarcely
explain. One must be amongst them regularly to know their wonderful ways
and habits. Yet another little incident, in conclusion, may be of
interest. I once called at a farm where they had been threshing a wheat
stack. A Rat-catcher had been there but without a dog, and when I
arrived two hours afterwards my dog made a set, and commenced scratching
amongst the old chaff left at the bottom of the stack, and to the
astonishment of myself and the farmer I pulled out of the hole where the
dog was scratching 73 live Rats! The other Rat-catcher, who had been at
the threshing all day, had caught only 14 Rats. This will serve to show
that a Rat-catcher must not be without a good dog.

And now, respecting the ways and habits of Rats I think I have given my
readers interesting and varied illustrations of what I have seen and
experienced during my time.

PART IV. LIFE OF THE RAT-CATCHER.

This work will not be complete if I do not deal with the Rat-catcher's
life. The profession is a peculiar and exciting one, but all right if
pursued in the right way. Although the calling takes one into dirty and
obnoxious places, there is no reason why the Rat-catcher should not
always appear respectable. The Rat-catcher has many temptations to
dishonest conducts, for instance, when Rat-catching on a farm or private
estate where there are numerous rabbits and game. It looks rather hard
lines for the Rat-catcher to come off a farm with his cage full of Rats
and see rabbits running about whilst he has all the requisites in his
possession for catching them; and yet he must not touch one, but go home
and merely reflect on what a good Sunday's dinner he is leaving behind.
This I have experienced many