230 MR. E. G. BOULEXGEU : UEPOra' Oif 



form, bread being soaked in a solution of the poison mixed witb 

 equal paits of milk. 



That gooil results may also be obtained when iiarium Carbonate 

 is used in conjunction with S(juill Since Barium Carbonate has. 

 a cori'osive action on the mucous membrane of the stomach, 

 compQlling the rodents to leave their holes in search of water, 

 the device of patting down bowls of liquid squill in the vicinity 

 of the ai'ea treated should be resorted to in order that the rats 

 may take more poison, thus ensuring their destruction. 



(3) That the destructive power of virus is luireliable, and that 

 better results are to be obtained by the use of Squill, Barium 

 Carbonate, and other poisons. 



(4) That trapping, provided the correct types of traps arfr 

 employed, is to be recommended at all times of the year, and 

 should be resorted to with special energy during the winter and 

 in the periods between the poisoning campaigns, in order to 

 destroy the surviving rats. That by persistent and skilful 

 trapping the numbers of rats, even in badly infested localities,, 

 can be greatl}^ reduced and kept under control. 



That rats like passing through passages showing light at the 

 far end, provided the middle of the passage is not dark. That of 

 all the traps we tested, a Avire tunnel-shaped cage trap, known 

 to us as tiie Brailsford trap, and which embodied the above 

 principles, gave the best results. In the type in question, which 

 we regret is no longer being manufactured, the open doors at 

 each end shut when the rat steps on a platform in the centre of 

 the passage. With regard to this trap the results differed 

 according to the height of the doors and passage, and that when 

 these were eight incites high the lai-gest percentage of captures 

 was obtained. The width was found immaterial, provided of 

 course it allowed for the free passage of the rat. 



That the ordinary steel Gin trap and the " Nipper," a break- 

 back trap with a moveable platform, were the only other traps to 

 give very successful results, and with these the highest percentages 

 of captures were obtained when they were covered with a wire 

 tunnel of the Brailsford pattern, but without the doors, the traps 

 being substituted for the platform. 



That it is superfluous to avoid handling traps on the assump- 

 tion, often entertained, that rats are detracted by the odour 

 of man. 



(5) That hunting with dogs and ferrets is a good method. to 

 adopt for the reduction of the rat population, 340 of the 1076 rats 

 caught by us between the months of April and September being 

 captured by the aid of ferrets and a single dog. 



(6) That gassing, an expensive method, has a distinct advantage- 

 over all others in that it kills not only the adult and half-growa 

 rats, but also the newly-born in their nests. 



That Sulphur Dioxide is the best gas for use in rat destruction,, 

 and for killing rats on ships or in confined spaces it has no rivaL 



