Chapter XI: Part 11

In Provincial Decree No. 48, issued by the governor-general January
30, 1908, it is proposed among other things to establish a permanent
service for the capture and bacteriological examination of rodents in
the city and its suburbs.

In transmitting the publication containing copies of these decrees the
consul stated that by the end of February, 1908, the campaign against
rats was relaxed, and since then nothing had been done to continue the
work of extermination.

In Tamatave, Madagascar, and other ports of that island no efforts
were being made to exterminate rats, and the American consul reported
that there were no municipal or colonial laws or regulations directing
such action.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA.

In a report dated January 20, 1909, Dr. A. J. Gregory, medical officer
of health for the colony, states that at present no persons are solely
employed on rat catching, but the sanitary staff is required to take
all possible measures to reduce the rodent population. By the use of
bird lime a very large number of rats have from time to time been
destroyed. Doctor Gregory also refers to experiments made to determine
the value of tar and funnels placed on ropes to prevent the access of
rats to ships. The experiments were made to simulate actual conditions
that would prevail at ships lying at docks. It was found that thickly
coating a rope with fresh tar had not the slightest deterrent effect
on rats passing along. Funnels of a less diameter than 20 inches were
equally unsuccessful, and it was thought the experiments proved the
fallacy of trusting to tarred ropes or to disks of a workable diameter
being able to prevent rats from migrating in either direction between
shipping and shore.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN ALEXANDRIA AND CAIRO, EGYPT.

In Alexandria, Consul D. R. Burch stated that measures for the
extermination of rats were practiced; that the cost of disinfection
was defrayed by the municipality, which also supplied rat traps and
poison.

In Cairo rat destruction was being practiced, but it was stated that
the results could not be described as encouraging.

EXTERMINATION OF RATS IN THE PORT OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

Consul-General E. H. Ozmun, at Constantinople, states that while no
special measures have been taken to exterminate rats in that city, the
sanitary administration of the Ottoman Empire has provided measures
for the destruction of rats and mice on all vessels arriving from
places contaminated with plague, and he has furnished the following
copy of instructions concerning vessels which have or have not
undergone disinfection in view of destroying rats and mice on board:

ARTICLE 1. Vessels coming from places contaminated with plague and
which have not been disinfected either in the port of departure or
in an intermediary port during voyage, for the destruction of rats
and mice on board, according to the regulations of the superior
council of health, shall undergo their disinfection in the lazaretto
while finishing their quarantine.

ART. 2. Vessels coming from places contaminated with plague provided
with a certificate stating that the aforementioned disinfection has
been undergone may, after their admission, work in the port but
without landing on the quay.

ART. 3. Vessels proceeding from an uncontaminated Ottoman or foreign
port and which are provided with the certificate mentioned in
article 2 shall be free to moor at the quay if it is proved that the
vessel has been disinfected within a period of forty days; if not,
the vessel will operate in the port or at anchor.

Vessels in a similar case not provided with this certificate but
which can prove by the journal of the vessel that they have not
sailed within a period of four months to a contaminated port shall
be authorized to moor at the quay.

ART. 4. Vessels mooring at the quay must be at a distance of from 1
to 2 meters (39⅓ inches to 78¾ inches) maximum. During night they
must draw up the gangways and ladders, and must leave no towline
suspended without protecting it with funnels, brush wood, etc.

The vessels working in the harbor must also protect their towlines
in the same manner.

It is prohibited for lighters and boats to remain attached to these
vessels during the night outside of the time for working.

ART. 5. The above-mentioned vessels, mooring at the quay and on the
way to an Ottoman port, shall be required after having finished the
loading and discharging of cargo, to pass through the disinfection
prescribed by article 1 if their certificate of disinfection
mentioned by article 3 is found to be out of date, and also as long
as the city of Constantinople shall be considered as contaminated.

ART. 6. Vessels coming from uncontaminated quarters, although not
under any restraint, are free to go to any lazaretto in the Empire
and ask to be disinfected according to article 1; the latter will
work without delay so as to prevent loss of time as much as
possible.

ART. 7. The expenses of disinfection are to be paid by the vessels
disinfected.

ART. 8. Captains, doctors, or any officers of vessels are expected
to furnish the sanitary authorities with all information asked for
relating to the presence of rats and mice on board the vessel.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN RUSSIAN PORTS.

In Vladivostok, according to Consul Lester Maynard, the only efforts
to exterminate rats were made by the commissary department of the
army. Poisons, which had for their active principle caustic lime, were
distributed but were not entirely satisfactory, as the baits were not
sufficiently tempting food.

The keeping of cats had been recommended as the best method of
exterminating rodents, and it had been suggested that skunks, weasels,
and similar animals should not be killed, as they are the best
destroyers of rats and mice.

In Riga and Libau there were no laws and regulations prescribing a
systematic extermination of rats. The consul reported that only in
case of plague did the sanitary authorities order a thorough
destruction of rats not only on ships but also in warehouses and
private dwellings. The steamship companies, however, were said to
employ rat poison on their vessels, and, in addition, the ships were
thoroughly disinfected by means of sulphur fumes several times a year.

In Odessa it was reported by Consul J. H. Grout that the public health
officers of the port had been fully alive to the importance of
exterminating rats in order to prevent plague. In 1901 a systematic
extermination of rats on board vessels had been inaugurated, and in
1902 this practice was extended to include all vessels leaving the
port. The agent used in this process was the burning of sulphur in
specially designed iron containers. In 1902, 2,054 rats were killed in
346 vessels. In 1903, 1,038 rats were killed in 68 vessels. In 1904,
17,074 were killed in 168 vessels. In 1905, 512 rats were killed in
166 vessels. In 1906, 553 rats were killed in 188 vessels. In 1907,
1,887 rats were killed in 135 vessels; and in 1908, 1,138 rats were
killed in 97 vessels.

In St. Petersburg and vicinity no consistent effort, according to the
consul, had been made to exterminate rats, but at Cronstadt the port
authorities had experimented with ratin.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN TRIESTE, AUSTRIA.

All vessels arriving at Trieste from plague-infected countries on
board of which rats appeared in abnormal numbers were disinfected with
sulphur in accordance with rules of the Paris convention of 1903.
Consul G. M. Hotschick stated that it was a rule, whether rats were
numerous or not, to disinfect every vessel every six months so as to
exterminate rats on board. An exception was made in the case of the
Austrian Lloyd steamships plying between Trieste and the Far East,
these vessels being disinfected by the Clayton apparatus. All attempts
to destroy rats along the port shore had proven fruitless, according
to the consul, but in custom warehouses cats were kept, thus limiting
the number of rats.

The rules applying to Trieste extended to all the ports of Austria.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN GENOA, ITALY.

The methods employed at Genoa for the extermination of rats found on
ships were those prescribed by the ministry of the interior at Rome in
accordance with the Sanitary Convention of Paris.

As stated by Consul-General J. A. Smith, the regulations place all
ships arriving from plague-infected ports into three categories, as
follows: Infected, suspected, and noninfected. On ships coming under
the first two headings all rats must be destroyed previous to the ship
being allowed to pass quarantine. Noninfected ships were subject to
the same regulations only in case of an unusual mortality among rats
aboard, or in case of an excessive number of them being found on board
on arrival, which, in the opinion of the port medical officer,
required their destruction. Sulphur was used as the agent of
destruction, the gas being generated in a special apparatus. This
apparatus had been installed in the ports of Naples, Genoa, Messina,
Brindisi, Venice, and Asinara.

Further regulations of the ministry provided for the means to be
employed in preventing rats from reaching shore.

RAT DESTRUCTION IN BARCELONA, SPAIN.

In Barcelona Vice-Consul-General Wm. Dawson, Jr., reported that the
officials in charge of public health measures attached no really great
importance to the destruction of rats as an effective means of
preventing the spread of plague. Several attempts, however, had been
made to kill rats, which invade Barcelona to an enormous extent. In
his report the vice-consul further stated that bacterial cultures
known as _Tifus ratoso_, and supposed to have given excellent results
in Formosa, had been tried without appreciable results on wild rats.
He further stated that wheat boiled in a 5 per cent solution of
corrosive sublimate, dried in the air, and spread in sewers and other
places, had proved the most effective means of killing a few thousand
of them, but this practice had not been carried out to any great
extent nor for any length of time.

RAT DESTRUCTION AT FRENCH PORTS.

In Marseille the following was the practice as reported by the
director of the maritime health service at that port and forwarded by
Consul-General H. L. Washington:

The obligatory destruction of rats in all French ports is enforced
by virtue of a decree dated May 4, 1906. This applies: (1) To all
vessels arriving from a port regarded as contaminated by plague or
having only touched at such port. (2) To all vessels having received
in transshipment—that is to say, from ship to ship—merchandise
originating in a country deemed contaminated by plague. The
destruction of these animals is carried out exclusively by means of
apparatus whose efficacy has been recognized by the Superior Council
of Hygiene of France.

The devices employed at Marseille are:

(1) The “Marot,” adopted June 19, 1905. This apparatus utilizes
liquid sulphurous anhydrite, which is slackened, diluted in the air,
and subjected or not to the action of the electric spark. The gas is
introduced into the vessel by means of a ventilator at a rate of
from 25 to 30 meters per minute (82.02 to 98.42 feet).

(2) The “Gauthier-Deglos,” adopted February 18, 1907. This method
requires the combustion in an oven of a mixture of sulphur and coal
dust. A ventilator withdraws air from the vessel and causes it to
pass over the mixture in combustion; the gas thus produced is cooled
and then introduced into the vessel. A third device, known as the
“Clayton,” in use in some of the French ports, also operates from
time to time in Marseille on such vessels as are provided with it,
but it does not exist in the port itself. The principle of this
device is based upon the combustion of sulphur, its transformation
into sulphurous sulphuric gas, the cooling of the gases leaving the
oven, aspiration of the exterior air or the air in the holds of
vessels, and introduction into the holds by means of a powerful
ventilator.

With all three systems, the ships’ holds are opened only after they
have been in operation for three hours.

In Bordeaux, according to the consul, contracts had been entered into
between the Government and a private individual for the extermination
of rats on all ships coming from plague-infected ports, the apparatus
employed being that in use at Marseille.

In Havre the extermination of rats on vessels from plague-infected
ports was reported by Consul A. Gaulin as being systematically carried
out in accordance with a ministerial decree of May 4, 1906, which is
as follows:

ARTICLE 1.—The destruction of rats, or “deratization,” effected
exclusively by means of apparatus the efficiency of which has been
recognized by the Superior Council of Public Hygiene of France, is
obligatory for admission into French ports:

1. Of every ship coming from or having called at a port considered
as being contaminated with plague.

2. Of every vessel having taken in transshipment—that is to say,
from one vessel to the other—more than 50 tons of merchandise coming
directly from a country considered as being contaminated by the
plague.

The above provisions are applicable to vessels having already
discharged a part of their cargo in one or several foreign ports.

ART. 2.—May be exempt from deratization:

1. Vessels which only land passengers in French ports without
docking and which sojourn only several hours.

2. Vessels making a call of less than twelve hours and discharging
less than 500 tons of merchandise, on condition that the
surveillance of discharging be accomplished during the day
exclusively, the ship being moored away from the quays, and the
hawsers provided with rat guards.

3. Steamships which shall not have called at any port considered as
being contaminated by the plague for sixty days since their
departure from the last contaminated port, and on board of which
there shall have been observed nothing of a suspicious sanitary
nature.

4. Vessels which, having called at a port considered as being
contaminated by the plague, will prove that they neither berthed
alongside the quay or landing stages, nor embarked merchandise.

5. Vessels which have undergone the process of deratization in a
foreign port subsequent to their departure from the last port
considered as being contaminated. It must be proven, in this case,
that nothing of a suspicious sanitary nature has taken place on
board during the voyage, and that the deratization has been effected
with the same apparatus and the same guarantees as in France. The
captain of the vessel shall deliver as proof to the sanitary
authorities a certificate mentioning the apparatus employed, the
conditions under which the operation was effected, the verifications
made, etc., and a certificate viséed by a French consular officer.

6. Vessels whose status is that indicated in paragraph 2 of article
1, on condition that the merchandise has been transshipped from a
vessel which has been deratized under the conditions prescribed in
the preceding paragraph, and if such merchandise is accompanied by a
certificate of deratization provided for in said paragraph.

ART. 3.—Shall be considered as merchandise, for the application of
the present decree, all products embarked, figuring or not figuring
on the manifest, the only exception being coal embarked for the
needs of the ship without touching the quay.

ART. 4.—Deratization may be effected during the voyage by any French
ship having a surgeon, and one of the machines prescribed by article
1.

The sanitary official at the port of arrival shall determine, upon
examining the documents presented and the proofs furnished, the
conditions under which the operation has been effected, and he may
exact a total or partial renewal of the same.

The same provisions are applicable to foreign vessels, by virtue of
reciprocity, on the twofold condition that the sanitary officials of
the one (nation) enjoy the same standing as French sanitary
officials, and that the apparatus used are the same as those
mentioned in article 1.

ART. 5.—In ports, the deratization is effected before the unloading
of the ship.

The operation comprises the holds, bunkers, storerooms, crew’s
quarters, emigrants’ quarters or compartments for third and fourth
class passengers, and, in general, all interior compartments of the
ship.

The officers’ cabins, and those of first and second class
passengers, as well as the dining rooms, and saloons which are
provided for them, are not subjected to deratization except in cases
where the sanitary official judges it necessary—notably when the
ship is suspected of being or is infected by plague, when it has
been observed that the malady exists among the rats on board, or
when there has been a death from unusual causes.

ART. 6.—The apparatus to be employed for the deratization, by virtue
of article 1, are placed at the disposal of the owners or agents,
according to the conditions approved by the sanitary authority.

Ports possessing one of these machines are alone open to vessels
coming from countries considered as being contaminated by plague.

The operations are effected under the permanent supervision of the
sanitary authority and with the least possible delay.

ART. 7.—The expenses of deratization are borne by the owners, in
conformity with the provisions of article 94 (last paragraph) of the
decree of January 4, 1896. No sanitary tax is due, in consequence,
for the operation.

ART. 8.—The expenses considered in article 7 are based on the gross
tonnage of the ship, if the deratization comprises all its parts,
and on the cubic capacity of the parts deratized, if the operation
is partial. The cubic capacity is determined by and from the plans
of the ship, without allowing for the space actually occupied by
merchandise.

ART. 9.—A certificate setting forth the conditions under which the
operation has been effected is delivered to the captain or owners by
the sanitary authority.

ART. 10.—Ships which are not necessarily subject to the requirements
of deratization may, upon their request, be subjected to this
operation upon their departure, as on their arrival, either with
full or empty holds, and obtain, in consequence, the delivery of the
certificate mentioned in article 9. Every facility should be
accorded them for this purpose.

ART. 11.—Violations of the provisions of the present decree are
punishable by the penalties set forth in article 14 of the law of
March 3, 1822, independently of the measures taken for the isolation
or other measures to which ships are subjected by reason of their
origin or the sanitary condition on board at the time of arrival.

ART. 12.—Are annulled, the decree of September 21, 1903, and the
provisions of the decree of September 23, 1900, which would be at
variance with the second paragraph of article 6 above cited.

ART. 13.—The minister of the interior is charged with the execution
of the present decree, which shall be published in the Official
Journal, inserted in the Bulletin of Laws, and posted in the ports.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN GERMAN PORTS.

In Hamburg, according to Consul-General R. P. Skinner, stationed at
that port, persistent efforts were being made to exterminate rats not
only on board ship but in the city itself, and he reported the
following method of procedure:

Upon the arrival of every vessel an inspecting officer employed by
the board of health boards the same to inquire whether, during the
voyage, rats have died in exceptionally large numbers. While in port
the vessel is visited almost daily by inspectors, who search for
dead rats, particularly in the holds. On vessels from such ports
whence plague-infected rats have been brought to Hamburg repeatedly
an officer of the board of health is posted on board constantly to
watch the discharging of the cargo. All dead rats found are
immediately delivered to the Hygienic Institute; and if the latter’s
bacteriological examinations give reason to suspect plague, the
discharging is immediately discontinued and communication with the
shore interrupted. The vessel’s crew and discharging gangs are
placed under medical observation for a period of five days, the
cargo compartments are treated with generator gas, so as to
exterminate all rats, and, after the quarantine has been
discontinued and the cargo discharged, all compartments are
carefully disinfected. For the purpose of treating infected ships by
means of generator gas the Hamburg government owns a special
disinfection ship, called the _Desinfektor_, which will be described
later.

In order to exterminate rats on ships frequenting the port of
Hamburg the master of every vessel arriving here receives the
following instructions from a representative of the health officer
of the port:

He shall cause rat poison to be laid and fumigate holds by means of
sulphur and charcoal as soon as the cargo has been discharged, not
less than 10 kilos (22 pounds) of sulphur and 20 kilos (44 pounds)
of charcoal to be used for a room of 1,000 cubic meters (1,308 cubic
yards). Such rooms must be kept closed at least ten hours. On ships
arriving from ports infected with plague, rat poison is laid, free
of charge, immediately upon arrival, by an employee of the municipal
disinfection establishment, at all places within reach. On all other
ships the laying of rat poison is done by private persons whose
charges are payable by the vessel’s master or owner.

The disinfectors employed by the State of Hamburg use principally a
rat poison called “Rattengiftspeise,” consisting chiefly of
phosphorus and squills. Private rat killers may choose any other
material, but from time to time samples of such poisons as are laid
out on ships are taken by order of the harbor surgeon, and rats kept
in the public laboratories are fed with them, to enable a control as
to the effectiveness of the poison.

Under special circumstances the harbor surgeon is authorized to
waive the requirement of fumigation.

Killed rats are not permitted to be thrown overboard, but must be
delivered to the nearest police station, which causes their
cremation.

On river barges rat poison is laid by official disinfectors every
three months.

Finally there is rat poison laid, from time to time, in warehouses,
cargo sheds, and trade establishments in the harbor, partly by
official disinfectors and partly by private rat killers, which is
regularly controlled by the harbor surgeon, a special officer of his
department being engaged for such purpose.

The ship called the _Desinfektor_, owned by the government of
Hamburg for the purpose of disinfecting ships arriving from infected
ports and for the extermination of plague infected rats, is a
steamer equipped with a generator gas apparatus and other
disinfecting facilities. The method of using generator gas has been
chosen for reasons which are described in a booklet issued some time
ago by the local board of health on this subject.

In respect to the extermination of rats in Hamburg, aside from the
system adopted for ships and in the harbor, the consul-general states
that efforts to this end are being successfully carried out by
official disinfectors by order of the board of health, and he refers
to the procedures as follows:

If it becomes known to the board of health that in any locality or
group of buildings there are rats in large quantities, rat poison is
immediately laid. For such purpose the above-mentioned
Jungclaussen’s preparation is almost exclusively used. The several
local citizens’ associations (Bürgervereine), at the meetings of
which all topics of interest are discussed, contribute largely to
the bringing to the knowledge of the proper authorities of all
matters a remedy of which is, in public interest, considered
necessary, among them rat and mice nuisances in the several
districts of the city. Of late the board of health has also begun to
lay rat poison in houses in the old parts of the city, employing the
house-to-house method, and rat poison is laid, from time to time in
sewers and other underground canals where rats usually congregate in
large numbers.

As the laying of rat poison at or in the vicinity of places where
domestic animals are kept is dangerous to the latter, the Hamburg
board of health has only shortly ago caused a small gas generator to
be constructed, similar to that on the _Desinfektor_. The apparatus
can easily be removed from one place to another, and is chiefly to
be used on yards or unimproved lots, public parks, zoölogical
gardens, etc., where rats live under the ground. In fumigating such
a rat nest, all holes leading out of it are closed with earth,
except two. The hose of the gas apparatus is introduced into one of
the holes and gas insufflated. The majority of rats in the hole are
dead before being able to reach the fresh air. Those succeeding in
doing so, by getting out of the one open hole, are so dizzy that
they can easily be killed with a club. Only a few experiments have
so far been made with this apparatus, but the same promises good
success.

In Bremen, according to the consul, all disinfection of vessels and
their cargoes was done with sulphur dioxide by means of a Clayton
apparatus, and vessels equipped with this apparatus, and those having
physicians aboard, had the advantage of being able to start
disinfection twenty-four hours before arrival at port, this process
having been recognized as sufficient compliance with the quarantine
laws of Germany.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS AT THE PORT OF ROTTERDAM.

In the report from Consul-General S. Listoe it was stated that the
extermination of rats had not been officially undertaken by the
authorities of Rotterdam, either in the port or aboard incoming ships.
The question had been investigated, however, and the harbor master had
strongly advised the installation of a fumigating machine, which would
be installed on one of the numerous river police boats. Ship owners
had, for their own protection, caused their ships to be occasionally
fumigated, and two of the well-known lines had fitted out some of
their steamers with fumigating apparatus.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS AT ANTWERP, BELGIUM.

Consul-General H. W. Diedrich stated that no official action had been
taken in the port of Antwerp for the extermination of rats, but that
every vessel entering the port had to pass the sanitary station at
Doel, and there was authority to hold up any suspected vessel and to
insist on fumigation for the destruction of rats.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN DENMARK.

As a result of the agitation started in 1898, the following law was
passed and signed by the King of Denmark on March 22, 1907:

1. When an association constituted for the purpose of effecting the
systematic destruction of rats has proved to the satisfaction of the
minister of the interior that it is in a position to expend on the
furtherance of its objects, within a period of three years, a sum of
not less than 10,000 kroner per annum, it shall become incumbent
upon each local authority to make suitable arrangements at the
expense of the local funds, and commencing with a date to be made
known hereafter by the minister of the interior, for the reception
and the destruction of all rats killed within the district of such
authority and delivered up to such authority.

For each rat delivered up each local authority shall pay a premium,
for the payment of which an annual grant shall be made out of the
local funds, which shall be not less than three kroner per each
hundred inhabitants within the district of each local authority,
according to the then last general census.

The State shall make for a period of three years an annual grant of
30,000 kroner, of which one-third may be expended on scientific
experiments with preparations for the extermination of rats, under
the control of, and in consultation with, the Royal Veterinary and
Agricultural College, while the remainder shall be expended on
purchasing preparations for the extermination of rats, which shall
be either employed on or in public lands or buildings, or out of
which remainder grants may be made to associations toward the
purchase of such preparations, in a manner to be defined hereafter
by the minister of the interior.

2. Each local authority shall fix the amount of the premium (sec. 1)
which shall not, however, be more than 10 oere or less than 5 oere.

Instructions for the collection and destruction of the rats killed
will be issued by the minister of the interior.

3. The association cited in section 1 shall submit for the sanction
by the minister of the interior at the beginning of each year a plan
showing the proposed expenditure, and at the end of each year an
account of the money expended by it, together with statistics
obtained by it showing the expenditure on premiums made by each
local authority.

4. Where the proprietor or occupier of a messuage has participated
in the grant to be made by the State (sec. 1), he shall not deliver
up, or cause to be delivered up, for the purpose of obtaining a
premium or premiums, rats killed within the said messuage, until the
expiration of one month from the employment of such preparation for
which such grant has been made. Any person acting in contravention
of this section shall be liable to a penalty of 100 to 500 kroner.

5. Any person who preserves or breeds rats or imports rats from
abroad, in order to obtain premiums or enable another person to
obtain them, shall be liable to a penalty of 100 to 500 kroner,
unless he is liable to a higher penalty under the common law. A
person who shall deliver up rats knowing them to have been
preserved, bred, or imported for the purpose of obtaining a premium
shall be liable to the same penalties.

All proceedings under this act shall be taken in a public police
court, the fines to go to the special funds provided by this act, or
where such fund does not exist, to the public funds of such local
authority.

Any person delivering up rats to any other local authority than to
that within the district of which they have been caught shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding 100 kroner.

This act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed hereafter
by the minister of the interior and remain in operation for three
years.

In the session of the Riksdag immediately preceding the expiration
of this law a vote shall be taken for the renewal or revision of
this law.

The Government is authorized by royal rescript to make such
alterations in the operations of this law within the Faroe Islands
as may be considered most suitable, having regard to the special
conditions obtaining within those islands.

Following the enactment of this law, there was issued by the ministry
of the interior May 1, 1907, a circular to the local authorities on
the subject.

CIRCULAR TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

Whereas the Association for the Authorized Extermination of Rats has
proved to the satisfaction of the ministry of the interior that it
is in a position to expend on the furtherance of its objects not
less than 10,000 kroner within a period of three years, it is hereby
requested, in pursuance of act No. 59, of the 22d March, 1907 (see
public notice dated this day), and commencing with the 1st day of
July of this year each local authority shall at its own expense take
all such measures as may be necessary for the reception and
destruction of all rats killed within the district of such authority
and delivered up to it. For the purpose of paying a premium for each
rat delivered up each local authority shall out of the common funds
make an annual grant which shall be not less than 3 kroner for each
hundred inhabitants, according to the then last general census,
should the amount required for the payment of premiums make such
grant necessary. It shall be left to each local authority to decide
whether further grants shall be made toward this purpose. The
premium to be paid for each rat delivered up shall not be more than
10 oere or less than 5 oere, and shall be fixed by each local
authority which shall give due and sufficient notice both of the
date fixed for the commencement of the operations of the law and the
premium to be paid. As far as possible, a uniform rate of payment by
premium shall be fixed by local authorities within the same county.
Rats may not be delivered up to any local authority but to that
within the district of which they have been caught; any person
acting in contravention (par. 5 of the aforementioned law) shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding 100 kroner.

The chairman of the councils of the various local authorities are
hereby requested to take steps for the discussion and carrying out
of the provisions of this law.

If the grant made by any local authority for the purposes of this
law should prove insufficient for the payment of premiums on all
rats delivered up, such authority may apply to the Association for
the Authorized Extermination of Rats, Colbjornsengade 14, Copenhagen
B, for a subsidy, this association having undertaken to organize the
obtaining of voluntary subscriptions for the carrying out of the
purposes of this act.

The said association is further prepared, at the request of local
authorities, to render expert assistance in commencing and carrying
through operations under this act.

For the collection and destruction of rats killed the ministry of
the interior issues the following instructions:

A.—THE LARGER TOWNS.

_Collecting depots._—The local authorities shall provide a
sufficient number of places suitable for collecting depots. Such
depots must not be within any place where food or clothing is made
or offered for sale. Fire brigade stations are considered most
suitable for collecting depots.

The collecting may suitably be done in the manner that for each
depot a number of receptacles are provided, made of galvanized iron
and furnished with a tight-fitting lid. Into these receptacles the
rats are to be thrown after their tails have been cut off. The tails
are to be kept in a separate tin box. All receptacles and boxes are
to be collected daily and to be replaced by empty receptacles. The
full receptacles are to be taken to the place where the destruction
of the rats is effected.

Further advice on the purchase of such receptacles and the apparatus
for cutting off their tails will be given by the Association for the
Authorized Extermination of Rats at the request of a local
authority.

The destruction may be effected either by cremating the dead
rats—for instance, at the municipal gas works—or by burying the
carcasses in the open, at a sufficient distance from the town,
unless this course is prohibited by local sanitary considerations.
It is recommended that the local authority act in this manner always
with the local health committee.

B.—THE SMALLER TOWNS.

Instead of opening a fixed depot, it would appear more suitable in
the smaller towns to provide a collecting cart. Any horse-drawn
vehicle would serve the purpose as long at it is furnished with a
fixed apparatus for cutting off the tails and a receptacle of
galvanized iron for receiving the carcasses of the rats. The vehicle
should also be fitted with a bell, to announce the arrival and
presence of the collecting cart.

The destruction of the carcasses is to be effected in the manner
described under A.

C.—THE VILLAGES.

The authorities in the villages shall appoint a suitable person to
receive the rats delivered up, for which work he shall be paid an
adequate remuneration. Such persons must be supplied with an
apparatus for cutting off the tails of rats handed in. After the
tails have been cut off, the rats may be buried in a suitable place
without delay. It is most undesirable that any person engaged in the
carrying of milk or other foodstuffs be asked to convey rats to the
persons appointed to receive them. Villages in close proximity to
towns are advised to make arrangements for the cremation of the rats
at the municipal gas works.

In the case of villages whose buildings approximate those of a town
it is recommended that the regulations given for towns are adopted.

Respecting the payment of the premiums it is recommended that the
person in charge of a collecting depot or otherwise appointed to
receive rats is supplied with a fixed amount of petty cash, out of
which he pays the premium for each rat delivered up. The tails cut
from the rats serve as a receipt for the payment made, so that the
total amount of tails will be a discharge for the total amount of
petty cash received and paid out in premiums.

In order to prevent abuse it is particularly requested that the
local authorities take care that the rat tails are destroyed in an
efficient manner as soon as they have served the purpose of control
and checking.

For the purpose of keeping satisfactory accounts the Association for
the Authorized Extermination of Rats has on sale specially arranged
account books which are recommended by the ministry of the interior.

As in accordance with paragraph 3 of the law of 22d March, 1907, it
is the duty of the Association for the Authorized Extermination of
Rats to submit to the ministry of the interior a report on the money
expended in the whole of the kingdom on such premiums, the local
authorities are hereby desired to make a quarterly return to the
aforementioned association on the number of rats killed within the
district of each authority in each month of the quarter covered by
such return and on the money paid out for premiums. Forms for such
returns will be supplied by the association.

Any associations which in accordance with terms of paragraph 1 of
the law of 22d March, 1907, desire to participate in the grant made
by the State for the purpose of purchasing preparations for the
extermination of rats (ratin, etc.) must send a request to that
effect to the minister of the interior, together with a statement
showing the approximate cost of the proposed campaign and the amount
at the disposal of the association for that purpose. As this law is
essentially of an experimental character, the requests of all such
associations will be treated as preferential, which show that the
proposed extermination may be easily and successfully effected (as,
for instance, on small islands).

A number of copies of this circular will be forwarded to each local
authority.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN SWEDISH PORTS.

Consul W. H. Robertson at Gothenburg, Sweden, quoted the city
physician to the effect that “upon the appearance of plague in Great
Britain the city council decided in April and November, 1901, to make
an appropriation of $2,680 for an attempt to reduce the number of rats
within the community.” These attempts were continued during the period
May, 1901, to September, 1902, 2.68 cents being paid for each rat
caught. Any unusual mortality among rats on board a vessel coming from
a plague-infected port was being dealt with in accordance with a royal
proclamation of June 16, 1905.

In Malmo, according to the consular agent, the authorities during the
past seven years had given a premium for every rat killed during the
first five years, 2.68 cents for each rat, but during the past two
years only half of that amount.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN ENGLISH PORTS.

The Local Government Board has issued regulations for the prevention
of plague and certain other diseases. One of these regulations is as
follows:

The master of a ship which by reason of plague is an infected ship,
or a suspected ship, or which has come from, or has during the
voyage called at, a port infected with plague, or in which there are
rats infected with plague, or in which there is or has been during
the voyage an unusual mortality among rats, shall, under the
direction and to the satisfaction of the medical officer of health,
take all such precautions or employ all such means for effectually
stopping the access of rats from the ship to the shore as in the
opinion of the medical officer of health are measures reasonably
necessary for the prevention of danger arising to public health from
the ship.

In accordance with this regulation, notice was given in a circular
issued by the medical officer of health of the port of London of the
precautions necessary for stopping the access of rats from ship to
shore in that port. These precautions were outlined as follows:

1. All ropes and mooring tackle for securing the vessel either to
the shore or mooring buoys shall be fitted with metal brushes,
funnels, or other effective guards, the portions of such ropes and
mooring tackle leading from the vessel to a distance from the
vessel’s side of at least 4 feet shall be coated each night with
fresh tar. Ropes may, if desired, be protected by a covering of
canvas or yarns before tarring.

2. When not engaged in discharging cargo, one gangway only shall be
permitted to afford means of communication between the ship and the
shore.

3. The end of the gangway near the ship shall be whitened for a
length of 10 feet, and the watchman shall keep the gangway pulled
inboard after sunset, or it shall be guarded in some approved
manner.

4. When alongside the quay, the ports on the side of the vessel
nearest the quay shall be kept closed after sunset.

5. All empty cases and barrels, especially those from the
storerooms, shall be examined before being landed, to insure that no
rats are contained therein.

6. It is recommended that all possible means be adopted for catching
and destroying rats, both on the voyage and during the stay of the
vessel in port. Any rats so caught shall be killed, then placed in a
bucket of strong disinfecting solution, and afterwards burnt in the
ship’s furnace.

7. No rats, alive or dead, are to be removed from the ship without
my permission in writing.

In London, the practice of destroying rats on the docks had been
systematically carried out by the dock companies at their own expense
and under the supervision of the port sanitary authority. Vice-consul
Richard Westacott reported that the destruction of rats on vessels was
provided for by regulation whenever the medical officer of health was
satisfied that such precaution against the introduction of the spread
of plague was necessary.

In Liverpool, Consul J. L. Griffiths stated that earnest endeavors
were made to capture rats by professional rat catchers. On infected or
suspected ships, special precautions were taken to prevent the escape
to the shore of rodents. On noninfected or nonsuspected ships the
medical officer of health might also require the destruction of rats,
and in this case the expense was borne by the sanitary authority. It
is evident, therefore, that the precautions taken are in accordance
with the provisions of the International Sanitary Convention of Paris.

It was the practice, at the time the consul sent his dispatch, to
maintain strict surveillance over vessels likely to develop plague
aboard until after the period of incubation had been passed.

In Southampton, according to Consul A. W. Swalm, a competent man was
employed by the dock authorities whose sole duty was to wage war on
rats. In addition, the night watchmen on all vessels were required to
perform the additional duty of trapping rats. The usual precautions to
prevent the passage of rats from ship to shore were also observed.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS AT AUSTRALIAN PORTS.

The following are the regulations issued under the quarantine act of
1908 by the commonwealth of Australia relating to the ingress to and
egress from vessels of rats and mice; the destruction of rats, mice,
and other vermin; and precautions against the introduction of vermin
from plague-infested places.

136. (1) The master or owner of every vessel shall—

(_a_) Effectively obstruct—against the migration of rats—by means of
stout wire netting, all pipes, ports, cabin scuttles, and other
openings or holes in the side of the vessel next to the wharf, and
also when cargo is being discharged into lighters, in the side next
to the lighters, and keep them so obstructed while the vessel is
alongside the wharf or lighters;

(_b_) Prevent any organic refuse, galley scraps and waste from being
discharged into the waters or on the wharfs of any port.

(2) The master or owner of any vessel arriving in any port in
Australia from any place proclaimed infected with plague, or as a
place from or through which plague may be brought or carried, under
section 12 of the quarantine act, 1908, shall—

(_a_) Produce to the quarantine officer a certificate showing that
an efficient fumigation of such vessel while empty had been carried
out prior to departure. Such certificate, in the case of an oversea
vessel, must (if the port of departure be within the British
dominions) be signed by the health officer of the port; or, when
such port is a foreign port, by the British consul. In the case of
an interstate vessel the certificate must be signed by a quarantine
officer. In the absence of such certificate the quarantine officer
may require the cargo to be discharged in the stream. Efficient
fumigation in this regulation shall mean fumigation as specified in
regulation 137 (2) _b_;

(_b_) Suspend or cause to be suspended over the side of the vessel
against the wharf, or against any lighter alongside, electric or
other effective lights, distributed so as to afford from sunset to
sunrise thorough illumination fore and aft along the whole side of
the vessel.

137. (1) The owner or master of any vessel shall—

(_a_) Keep all foodstuffs and food refuse in rat-proof and
mouse-proof receptacles;

(_b_) Thoroughly flush out and afterwards empty the bilges before
berthing at any port;

(_c_) Keep on board the vessel a dog or a cat—or both—efficient for
rat and mouse killing, and give it or them constant access to those
parts of the vessel where rats or mice may harbor;

(_d_) Set and keep set in sufficient numbers and in suitable places
metal break-back traps or other effective traps for rats and mice;
and

(2) When so ordered by a quarantine officer, shall—

(_a_) Lay on the vessel poison baits effective for rats and mice;

(_b_) Submit the holds and other such parts of the vessel as the
quarantine officer directs to sulphur fumigation in accordance with
this regulation, or to some other method of fumigation approved by
the director of quarantine. Sulphur fumigation shall be effected by
passing sulphur fumes into the vessel under pressure, and at the
same time exhausting the air in the parts of the vessel under
fumigation, and shall be continued until all parts of the vessel
under fumigation are filled with a gaseous mixture of a strength of
not less than 3 per cent of sulphur oxides, and are kept so filled
for at least eight hours.

The fumigation shall, if the quarantine officer so orders, be
carried out in the stream or away from a wharf.

(_c_) Clean, wash, or spray all portions of the vessel likely to
harbor or afford shelter to vermin, with an approved insecticidal
solution effective for the killing of fleas, lice, bugs, and other
vermin; and

(_d_) Flush, cleanse, disinfect, or empty all lavatories, water
tanks, or any closed-in space on board the vessel, and cause to be
produced for disinfection any articles desired by the quarantine
officer.

In Sydney, it was stated by the president of the department of public
health that steady, systematic poisoning and trapping of rats were
done all the year round, and that this had been the case for the past
eight years. The experience there had been that mineral poisons were
found to answer best, and that organic viruses had been found to be
not practically successful.

In Melbourne, rat destruction was carried on by the board of public
health of Victoria and by the local health authorities under the
Victorian health act of 1890. As stated in the report of Consul J. M.
Jewell, the board of public health restricts its operations to
shipping wharves, to shores, and banks of the River Yarra upon which
Melbourne is situated. Since 1900, the board had had a staff of men
continually engaged in distributing poison baits. In order to prevent
the passage of rats to and from vessels, certain specific berthing
restrictions were in force. In addition, fumigation of vessels was
practiced under the supervision of the board’s officers. The board had
continually urged the various municipal authorities to maintain the
crusade against rats and render dwellings rat proof.

The consul also stated that the local municipal councils paid a bonus
for every rat, and that the fee was then 4 cents.

In Adelaide, it was stated there were no compulsory regulations for
the destruction of rats, but shipping companies had cooperated with
the local sanitary authorities to keep down these rodents on the
wharves by means of poison and traps, the poison being supplied gratis
by the board of health.

In Fremantle, and other seaports of Western Australia, according to
the consul-general, men were engaged in baiting and trapping rats,
these precautions being maintained throughout the year.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS IN SOUTH AMERICAN PORTS.

In Buenos Aires it was stated by the chief of the asistencia publica
that a regular staff of 150 men was employed in the destruction of
rats and fumigation of houses. A map of the city showing houses that
had been found to contain rats was marked. In addition, a pesthouse
was maintained in which live rats were watched, and developments of
pest noted.

In Montevideo Consul F. W. Goding stated that there were no organized
efforts for the destruction of rats, but that vessels were fumigated
at stated intervals under the direction of the sanitary authorities.
He also stated that the Government had required portions of the sea
wall to be covered with cement in order to prevent rats obtaining a
lodging there.

In Callao, Peru, provision was made for the fumigation of vessels from
infected ports, and it is stated by Consul-General S. M. Taylor that
the Government had required steamship companies to install fumigating
apparatus on board their passenger vessels.

It is stated by the consul that there was a new municipal law in
Callao calling for stone or brick 2 feet below and 2 feet above ground
on all walls and foundations for new buildings, and concrete floors in
all establishments where provisions are sold.

In Iquique, Chile, it was reported by the consul that the director of
the municipal laboratory disinfected houses infected with plague, and
sent a corps of men to poison and trap rats which might be therein.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS IN WEST INDIAN PORTS.

From Habana it was reported that no action had been taken by the
sanitary authorities toward exterminating vermin, except the
promulgation of a circular letter calling attention to the presence of
the plague in neighboring countries, and requesting citizens to free
their premises of rats. The same statement was also said to apply to
other Cuban seaports.

In Kingston, Jamaica, on account of the appearance of the plague in
Venezuela, the government took precautionary measures with the view of
exterminating rats. These steps, as reported by Vice-Consul W. H.
Orritt, were as follows:

A. Lectures were delivered in various centers of the island showing
how rats are the distributers of plague and the necessity of
destroying them.

B. Virus was imported, and live rats were inoculated and set free in
every seaport in the island.

C. Bamboo pots with poison glued to their bottoms were distributed to
householders and placed in the haunts of rodents.

In Santo Domingo bounties for rats were authorized May 19, 1908, by
the city council. In addition, rat virus had been used in considerable
quantity.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN PANAMA.

In Cristobal, Canal Zone, Colon, and Bocas del Toro, it was stated by
Consul J. A. Kellogg that the sanitary department of the Isthmian
Canal Commission had for some time been exterminating rats by traps
and poisons.

In La Boca, Canal Zone, Consul-General Arnold Shanklin stated that the
sanitary department of the Isthmian Canal Commission and the Public
Health and Marine-Hospital Service had in charge and had most
effectually carried on the extermination of rats, and that this
crusade had also been extended to the old docks and wharves in the
city of Panama.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS IN VANCOUVER.

It was stated by Consul-General George M. West, December 17, 1908,
that the city of Vancouver was paying a bounty of 50 cents per hundred
for all rats caught. The following regulations for the docking or
mooring of vessels arriving from plague-infected ports became
effective April 8, 1908:

1. All vessels arriving at British Columbian ports from ports
infected or suspected of being infected with bubonic plague shall
conform to the following regulations:

(_a_) Vessels shall be moored or docked at a distance not less than
6 feet from wharf or land.

(_b_) Ropes or chains connecting a vessel with wharf or land shall
be protected by funnels of size and shape satisfactory to local and
provincial boards of health.

(_c_) All gangways shall be lifted when not in use. Gangways when in
use shall be guarded against the exit of rats by a person specially
detailed for this purpose.

(_d_) All vessels changing route to solely British Columbian ports
shall give satisfactory evidence of disinfection and extermination
of vermin to provincial board of health.