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Show MUSEUM TO RECEIVE BARREL PICKLED RATS Rare Specimens of Rodents Found in Philippines Sent to Washington. WASHINGTON. Tan 7 Word has been received at the National museum that a bt.rrel of rats has been shipped to that institution from Manila They are coming com-ing In pickle. Some months ago rats were very numerous nu-merous In Manila and the surrounding parts of Luzon, and many of them were affected with disease which Is soon -times communicated to man. Bounty for Rodents The danger of u widespread pestilence Induced the hi.iltb nit hnrlth-s to off.i a bountv of half a cent (gold) fOr each ral brought In. The natives Set tO work killing, kill-ing, trapping end snaring rats, und the result whs that several thousand were received re-ceived dally for several weeks by the health department. Had Scientific Value. About this time MaJ Edgur A Mifirns, a surgeon In the I'nltcd States army and an enthusiastic naturalist and collector. Arrived In Manila and became attached to the board of public health He soon pi rcelved that not all of the animals Drought In were common bouse rats but that many of them had considerable scientific sci-entific value and that some belonged to species wholly unknown to naturalists. Preserved in Pickle. An empty barrel was obtained find partially par-tially tilled with formalin, and for several weeks Dr Mearns spent his leisure hours In sorting over rats, preserving those which were of value This was filled In time and has been shipped to the National Na-tional museum |