404 Practical Game Preserving. 



wide, having the form of a quarter circle, should be cut 

 to the shape of the corner, and fastened up, one in each, 

 sloping downwards at an angle of about 45deg. When 

 descending the wall, rats, if they get on the board (which, 

 by-the-by, must be smoothly planed), slide off and fall to 

 the ground, in all probability without any injury to them- 

 selves. If these pieces of board can be easily supplemented 

 by pieces of glass of smaller size, all the better, but 

 any nails used to support them must, if situate toward the 

 outer portion, be placed beneath the glass. In some in- 

 stances these embellishments of the corners of outbuildings 

 will be found excellent for preventing rats from getting 

 away. 



If it be intended to employ traps as well, there should 

 be plenty of them strewed about, unset if gins ; or tied 

 up, if box traps or those working on similar principles. 



Ferreting rats out from buildings and killing them with 

 dogs, &c., unless properly carried out in a determined 

 manner, is a very uncertain mode of killing, and its only 

 use is to bustle the vermin about and make them scared ; 

 but, on the other hand, if the work be done thoroughly, 

 then it rarely fails to leave its mark. In order, then, to 

 make the business productive of beneficial results, a sys- 

 tematic raid must be arranged and carried out. Of course, 

 the chief thing is to have a good lot of ferrets well up to 

 their work, and at the same time large and strong enough 

 to show to good account in the many fights which they will 

 have to engage in. One should have a number of ferrets 

 according to the extent of ground they will have to spread 

 over, and it is best to obtain about twice as many as one 



