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Show REFUSED TO EAT MATCHES Experiment Proved That Rats and Mice Have Been Unjustly Accused of Causing Fires. Rats, mice and matches have long been considered a source of fires. An Investigator, however, after extensive exneriment. renorta. in Safety En gineering, that there is no real foundation founda-tion for the popular idea. A large number num-ber of rats were caught at different times and confined in cages with the ends open for observation. Matches were then placed in the cages, but no food, and the rats were left in a quiet spot in a cellar. In every case the animals ani-mals starved to death or ate their companions. com-panions. Not a match head or splint was gnawed. The matches were well seasoned and of different varieties from the strike-on-the-box to the double-Up and the common parlor match. A second series of tests was conducted In a cage measuring more than six feet square. The results were the same. In all cases the rats were without food from two to three days, then the matches were Introduced and the rats died from starvation within one to five days after. Like experiments were conducted with mice and the same results re-sults obtained, the mice being hungry from two to three days, then the matches were Introduced and death followed In one to five days. In the larger cages the rats were fed for periods varying from twenty to forty-four forty-four days in order to permit the animals ani-mals to become accustomed to their surroundings and act normally. A greater variety of matches was used in this test. The rats were imprisoned together In this case and many were guawed and eaten by their companions. |
