Last week when I started researching the cholera epidemic in St Louis back in the 1800s and earlier I thought I had a plan to rid the world of this horrible disease once and for all. Today I stumbled across this obscure site on the net and now I'm not sure if I should continue. I can't be sure if the author is for or against the issue, but one thing I'm certain of, I don't want to lose my tractor. (Assuming I had a tractor.)----Jim In the United States, cholera was prevalent in the 1800s but has been virtually eliminated by modern sewage and water treatment systems. A person may get cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera bacterium. In an epidemic, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an infected person or rodent. The disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water. If not controlled by man or natural enemies, the Norway rat can easily have a population explosion. A female can mate with a male just hours after giving birth, and mating goes on between males and females all year round. The 7 to 11 young are born hairless and blind but can open their eyes at two weeks of age. They are well enough developed to leave the nest at three to four weeks of age. Females can breed at three months of age. They can have 2 to 22 young, but 7 to 11 is much more usual. Few Norway rats live out their full three years. At two years of age, females stop breeding and males are not as interested in mating. A female can have up to 12 litters a year if conditions are very good, but usually has five. It is an enduring myth that rats are smelly, vicious, and dirty, and of course could never be pets. In fact, rats may be the perfect New Millennium pet for busy families. Domestic or 'fancy' rats are clean, intelligent, affectionate, and playful. They can even be trained to use a litter box. They do not smell (as long as their habitat is kept clean), and are less likely to transmit diseases or parasites than a dog. The bad news about pet rats is that they don't live very long -- only about two to four years. Taung Ming-Lin has become something of a legend in the annals of habitat preservation. But before he achieved legendary status, the Taiwanese immigrant was a simple farm owner in Kern County, California. When his property was threatened by fire and he used a tractor to create a fire break to save his house, he disturbed the habitat of the Tipton rat, an endangered species. Federal agents confiscated his tractor, arrested him and charged him with destroying the rats’ habitat. This case was the direct affect of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which was signed into law in 1973 by then-President Richard M. Nixon. Endangered species are defined by the ESA as those species that are in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range. Threatened species are those that are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. There are many who argue that the ESA is severely outdated, given the fact that 30 years ago, there were 109 plant and animal species listed for protection, and now there are 1263 endangered or threatened, 249 candidates, and 36 proposed.. But, say some, that’s not the only problem with the ESA.In the United States, cholera was prevalent in the 1800s but has been virtually eliminated by modern sewage and water treatment systems. "They ain't taking my tractor and I ain't housing no rats."----Jim