292 ANIMAL COMPETITORS 



baits, and so prevent their being readily eaten 

 by the creatures to be got rid of. 



Virtues of strychnine. Strychnine is one of 

 four alkaloids obtained from nux vomica, the 

 seed of a tree known to botanists as Stryclmos 

 nux vomica. The chief supply comes from the 

 Malabar coast, India. It consists of colorless 

 crystals or white powder, and of several salts, 

 chiefly the sulphate and the nitrate, in needle- 

 like crystals. On account of its solubility the 

 sulphate is most convenient for poisoning small 

 animals, and is the one which should always be 

 used. Strychnine is very bitter, and to disguise 

 this sugar, honey, or an equivalent of its weight 

 in saccharine, is mixed with the powdered 

 poison; but this is not required for rabbits and 

 field-mice, which are accustomed to bitter foods. 



As a poison for noxious animals strychnine 

 has several advantages over the others com- 

 monly in use. It kills quickly, without the long 

 tortures of corrosive poisons. It spite of its 

 bitterness, baits containing it are rejected less 

 often than those containing arsenic. If strych- 

 nine is properly labeled and kept from children, 

 it is less dangerous to have on the premises 



