OF INSECTS, &c. 363 



When you find the holes quiet, and that no rats 

 use them, stop them up with the following compo- 

 sition. Take a pint of common tar, half an ounce 

 of pearl-ashes, an ounce of oil of vitriol, and a good 

 handful of common salt, mix them all well toge- 

 ther, in an old pan or pot. Take some pieces of 

 paper, and lay some of the above mixture very 

 thick on them, then stop the holes well up with 

 them, and build up the mouth of the holes with 

 brick, or stone, and mortar : if this be properly 

 done, rats will no more approach these, while 

 either smell or taste remains in the composition. 



To hill Rats in Places ixihereyou cannot set T^cips. 



Take a quart of the bait already described, then 

 rasp into it three nuts of nux vomica, and add a 

 quarter of a pound of crumb of bread, if there 

 was none before ; mix them all well together, and 

 lay it into the mouth of their holes, and in dif- 

 ferent places where they frequent ; but first give 

 them of the bait without the nux vomica for three 

 or four succeeding nights ; and when they find it 

 agrees with them, they will eat that mixed with 

 the nut with greediness. 



Rats are frequently very troublesome in sewers 

 and drains. In such cases, arsenic may be used 

 with success, as follows : take some dead rats, and 

 having put some white arsenic, finely powdered, 

 into an old pepper-box, shake a quantity of it on 

 the foreparts of the dead rats, and put them down 



