How to manage a Garden 



Trapping 1 Rats and Mice. 



Among smaller animals we have usually to contend with 

 rats, mice, and moles. The latter are in themselves harm- 

 less creatures, but they have a disagreeable habit of earth- 

 ing up the soil, and may thus do considerable damage to a 

 seed bed or make a lawn extremely unsightly. The 

 method of ridding a garden is to place traps in their runs 

 at a point where they cannot easily burrow beneath them 

 such as where the run crosses a path or piece of hard 

 ground. Gloves should be worn when setting the trap, as 

 the moles are said to have a very keen sense of smell, and 

 to be somewhat suspicious. Rats and mice have few if 

 any good qualities, and should be ruthlessly destroyed. A 

 good cat and a sharp terrier dog will do away with these to 

 a great extent; but in places where there are abundant 

 facilities for them to lay the foundations of a colony, 

 numerous traps and hangs must be provided. There are 

 so many forms of traps for mice, all of which are useful, 

 that it is impossible to single out any particular form for 

 special mention. Those may be said to be the best which 

 kill the vermin at once, and thus render escape through 

 the weakness of the trap, or through negligence an impos- 

 sible occurrence. The main thing of course is to catch the 

 mice, and measures will not be wanting to bring about their 

 annihilation. The ordinary spring gin is probably the best 

 for rats. It is certainly preferable to a wire cage, unless a 

 readjusting one is obtained, by which the trap is automati- 

 cally set again on the entrance of each victim. The hang 

 or snare if properly set is a valuable means of catching 



them. A snare is made of easy running wire in the same 

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