314 Practical Game Preserving. 



necessary to their safety, and hence its employment when 

 trapping possesses a twofold advantage, for besides being 

 an excellent lure it is, moreover, of great use in putting 

 them off their guard. It is, therefore, certainly advisable 

 to obtain some tincture of valerian and place a few drops 

 (two or three will suffice if the tincture be good), upon 

 each bait, besides a drop or so upon the plate of the gin 

 when set. It is also sometimes employed without any bait 

 to the trap, and the simple dropping of a very small 

 quantity upon the plate or plates of one or more gins 

 will prove its powerful attraction for cats, by causing the 

 capture of one of these arrant poachers. 



The advisability of the employment of the well-known box 

 trap is, as far as effectiveness is concerned, rather dubious 

 for vermin cats, as they become uncommonly wary, and 

 except in the case of a rather inexperienced one just entered 

 upon its vicious course of life, it is a better plan to use 

 gins. But for cats such as those in London, having a 

 propensity to sleep upon the flower beds, no better trap can 

 be recommended than the box trap, further enhanced in 

 attractiveness by the additon of a little valerian rubbed on 

 the sides of the inner end*. 



Another trap which has been recommended for trapping 

 cats is the " New American, &c., Trap." We have used 

 one as an experiment, but never caught a cat in it. 



The employment of poisons for the destruction of 

 ground vermin in general and for cats in particular is a 

 means to which we would never advise recourse, and is, 

 except under certain conditions, not admissible, for the 

 risk of poisoning animals other than those intended is 



