will in most cases come from a water-closet. Sometimes you will see from
the drain pipes in the water-closet, say, a six-inch pipe fitted into a
nine-inch pipe, and the joint covered round with clay, through which the
Rats eat and scratch and get into the building in great numbers in the
night, but most of them return into the drains during the day. Now, if
it is the breeding season (about eight months out of the twelve) they
will do much damage to silk, cotton, leather, lace, and, in fact, all
other light goods. And one would be surprised to see the quantity of
cloth, paper, etc., they will procure for their nests whilst breeding.

The way to get clear of these is to go in the day with two or three
ferrets and leave the drain pipe open. Ferret them all back into the
drain; don't put a net over the drain for fear you might miss one or two.
If they got back into the building they would be hard to catch, as they
would not face the net again. Then, after ferreting, make the drain
good, and if there be an odd Rat or two left in the building you will get
them in a few nights by baiting the trap.

There is another way of catching the Brown Rat which breeds under the
floor in large buildings where there are no drains. They are very
awkward to catch. Always have a trap or two set, but do not set them
where they feed; place them in their runs. But there are other methods
for other Rat-infested places. For instance, take a restaurant, where
they feed in the cooking kitchen; we will suppose they have eaten four
holes through either floor or skirting boards. The best way to catch
these--however many holes they have leading into the kitchen--is to block
up (with tin or similar material) all the holes with the exception of
one, and let them use that one for two nights. Then put a plateful of
good food, such as oatmeal and oil of aniseed, as far from the hole as
you can in the same kitchen; then run a small train of meal and aniseed