Full revelations of a professional rat-catcher, after 25 years' experience

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PAET II. HOW TO KEEP AND WOEK FEEEETS. TTrHE first necessity in ferret-keeping is that they shall be kept in hutches or "cotes," as they are commonly called. Care must always be taken to have their places well swilled with carbolic water, and then allowed to thoroughly dry before whitewashing the inside, which is also essential to keep them healthy. This should be done at least four times a year. Always have your hutches leaning from the wall, so that wet or refuse will not lodge, for when the bottom of a hutch is always wet it is liable to give the ferrets a disease called foot rot, which is very frequent where ferrets are neglected. Always keep the feeding part of the hutch well covered with sawdust. In feeding ferrets for the purpose of Eat- catching, never do so before going out with them ; I think it is quite sufficient to feed them every 24 hours. If you feed them oftener they are liable to get too fat, and also lazy and unwilling to work as they should. The best food you can give them is bread andmilk, and occasionally a little raw liver. Mix the bread and milk with a little hot water, stir well with a spoon or squeeze through your fingers, so that the ferrets will have to eat it where you feed them; if not they will carry the large pieces of bread that are wet into the corners of the sleeping place, which would soon cause that part of the hutch to smell very sour and become injurious to the health of the ferret, especially where four or five are kept together, as they are of a very perspiring nature. Always give them plenty of room to run about when you can ; if you don't they are likely to take cramp. Ferrets are usually subject to distemper. The first symptom is the ferret's neglect of its food. When you see this you will observe a little matter at the corner... FULL REVELATIONS OF A PROFESSIONAL RAT-CATCHER AFTER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE. By Ike Matthews Originally published in Manchester 1898, this rare early work on rat catching and control is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. READ COUNTRY BOOKS have now republished it in an affordable, high quality, modern edition, using the original text. Ike Matthews was a well known pest controller in his home town of Manchester over 100 years ago. His services were much in demand by local corporations, railway companies and merchants. This book details his extermination methods acquired over some twenty five years as a full time rat catcher. During this period he not only studied the different and the best methods of catching rats, but also took great interest in their ways and habits. The book's sixty four pages contain ten detailed chapters:- How to Clear Rats from Warehouses, Offices, Store Rooms etc. - Trapping. - Ferreting. - Drugs and Chemicals. - How to Keep and Work Ferrets. - Distemper in Ferrets. - Working Ferrets. - Suitable Dogs. - The Habits and Natural History of Rats. - Life of the Rat Catcher. - Hints on Rabbit Shooting. This is a fascinating read for all with an interest in the countryside and its wildlife. The pest controller and gamekeeper, both amateur and professional, will also find much of the information contained in these pages still useful and practical, even today. Many of the earliest sporting books, particularly those dating back to the 1800s, are now extremely scarce and very expensive. READ COUNTRY BOOKS are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.