156 



The bait should consist of some firm material, such as fried bacon 

 or tough meat, and should be tied on so that the rat will be obliged 

 to pull on it and thus spring the trap. The trap should be placed in 

 a corner or close to the wall on a flat, hard surface, so that the rat 

 can not spring it with his tail or by walking on it. 



BARREL TRAPS. 



In warehouses and granaries large numbers of rats may frequently 

 be trapped by using a barrel or garbage can having a metal top 

 which is carefully balanced. Large pieces of strong cheese are 

 placed in the middle of the cover and a plank laid from the floor to 

 the edge of the barrel. The rat runs up the plank onto the smooth 

 metaUic Ud which tips and the rat is precipitated into the barrel. 



In cities trapping is one of the most effective of the three methods 

 to slaughter rodents. The rat highways are easily discovered and 

 in them traps capture great numbers of the unwary. In the country 

 one can not so readily determine the rat highway. This difficulty 

 diminishes the effectiveness of trapping. To make up for what is 

 thus lost shooting has been resorted to with good results. In Hono- 

 lulu, where a vigorous campaign against rodents is being waged, a 

 very large proportion of the captured rats ( Mus rattus and M. alexan- 

 drinus) have been shot from trees. In Contra Cosfa County, Cal., 

 where ground squirrels are being exterminated, it has been found that 

 rodents possess an instinctive suspicion of traps and that during the 

 summer months shooting is not only the most practical but also 

 about the only effective means of attacking them. Shotguns are 

 the weapons to use. A rifle requires the hunter to be a better shot 

 than is ordinarily obtainable for such work, and, furthermore, the 

 danger from its longer range and from ricocheting bullets menaces 

 cattle and farm hands who may be working in the vicinity. As to 

 the shot and the powder charge for shells hunters differ. It is a 

 different problem for every shotgun, depending upon the gun's 

 cafiber and choke. The principle is to put the greatest number of 

 the largest shot the gun will carry into the rodent body. Thus in 

 10 and 12 gauge guns shoot No. 8 shot and in 16-gauge guns shoot 

 No. 9 shot, but this varies with each individual gun. The use of 

 soft lead or chilled shot seems a matter for personal preference. 

 The charge must be as much as the gun will carry. In the country 

 smokeless powder becomes a necessity during summer months since 

 black powder is liable to ignite the dry grass and stubble. 



POISONING. 



PLASTER FLOUR. 



Plaster flour is prepared by mixing one part dry plaster of Paris with 

 two parts flour or meal. When this is taken in sufficient quantity 



