282 



TREATISE ON THE CULTURE AND 



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 fir ft give them of the 

 bait without the nux vomica for three or four fucceeding 

 nights ; and when they find it agrees with them, they will eat 

 that mixed with the nut with greedinefs. 



Rats are frequently very troublefome in fhores and drains. 

 In fuch cafe, arfenic may be ufed with fuccefs, as follows : 

 take fome dead rats, and having put fome white arfenic, 

 finely powdered, into an old pepper-box ihake a quantity of 

 it on the foreparts of the dead rats, and put them down the 

 holes, or avenues by the fides of the fhores, at which they come 

 in; this puts a flop to the live ones coming any further; 

 for when they perceive the arfenic they will retire imme- 

 diately ; whereas if you were to put down the dead rats 

 without the arfenic, the live ones would eat them. 



What has been faid relates chiefly to rats ; we {hall now 

 give fome directions for deftroying mice. 



Take a quart of the bait prefcribed for rats before there is 

 any bread mixed with it ; then take four nuts of nux vomica,, 

 and rafp them very fine, otherwife the mice will pick out the 

 food from it, on account of its bitter tafte ; rub them well 

 together ; lay fome of it on a piece of paper, or, if without 

 doors, on a piece of tile, removing all other food from the 

 place, and it will kill all that eat of it. What is not eaten,, 

 take away in the morning, and replace it at night. If this be 

 in a garden, fhelter it with boards, or tiles, that it may not 

 get wet. 



I would recommend fetting fourth-figure traps in gardens : 

 thefe are fo well known to gardeners, that they need no de- 

 fer iption. They may be baited with garden Beans. 



Traps 



