7J1 



Kills. I'wisou, two iiood cats, aud steel traps failed 

 lo make any pei-ce]»tible impressiou on them. Fi- 

 nally 1 took a shot ^uu aud whenever a Kat was seen 

 to poke its head out of a hole or from under a chicken 

 house or run across the la^^n a load of tine shot was 

 sent after it. Ju the course of a week about a do-zen 

 were killed. Tliis made them very shy aud they, were 

 rai-cly seen about in the daytime, but they remained 

 about llu* buildings and coutiuned to do much mis- 

 chief in the night ti)ue. I went awav from hvime and 

 was absent two weeks. During this time the Kats 

 had not bt^n shot at and they were often seen ab(tut 

 the }»lace in daytime. I determined to ado'pt a new 

 mode of waifare, as it luid Wi'u suggested to me that 

 if a Eat ^^■as crippled with shot it would be far bet- 

 ter than killing it outright. I stationed myself at a 

 point where the animals usually came out, and, in 

 (wo days, shot six with a .22 auxiliary barrel, the cart- 

 ridges for which were loaded with about 70 pellets of 

 mustard-seed shot. Two of the animals wei'e very 

 near when shot at aud both were unable to get away 

 from the holes, but the others were only crippled and 

 made their escape. Two days after the occurreuct' 

 I he Kats left the ]dace. Since that time the saun- 

 j)lan has been adopted when the Rats made their ap- 

 pearance aud as soon as two or three wounded ones 

 go-t away the rest speedily left the premises. 



STRYCHNINE AND ARSENIC. 



These dangerous and deadly poisons are often em- 

 ployed with good success to kill Rats. The use of 

 these agents, however, is attended with much dan 

 ger, and often the animals which eat the poisoned food 

 hide under lloors. in walls and other jjlaces wheic they 



