HOUSE KATS AND MICE. 



7 



Farm buildings. — Granaries, corncribs, and poultry houses may be 

 made rat-proof by a liberal use of cement in the foundations and 

 floors ; or the floors may be of wood resting upon concrete. Objection 

 has been urged against concrete floors for horses, cattle, and poultry, 

 because the material is too good a conductor of heat, and the health 

 of the animals suffers from contact with these floors. In poultry 

 houses, dry soil or sand may be used as a covering for the cement 

 floor, and in stables a wooden floor resting on concrete is just as satis- 

 factory so far as the exclusion of rats is concerned. 



The common practice of setting corncribs on posts with inverted 

 pans at the top often fails to exclude rats, because the posts are not 

 high enough to place the lower cracks of the structure beyond reach 

 of the animals. As rats are excellent jumpers, the posts should be 

 tall enough to prevent the animals from obtaining a foothold at any 

 place within 3 feet of the ground. A crib built in this way, however, 

 is not very satisfactory. 



For a rat-proof crib a well-drained site should bs chosen. The 

 outer walls, laid in cement, should be sunk about 20 inches into the 

 ground. The space within the w alls should be grouted thoroughly 

 with cement and broken stone and finished with rich concrete for a 

 floor. Upon this the structure may be built. Even the walls of the 

 crib may be of concrete. Com will not mold in contact with them, 

 provided there is good ventilation and the roof is water-tight. 



However, there are cheaper ways of excluding rats from either 

 new or old corncribs. Rats, mice, and sparrows may be kept out 

 effectually by the use of either an inner or an outer covering of gal- 

 vanized-wire netting of half-inch mesh and heavy enough to resist 

 the teeth of the rats. The netting in common use in screening cellar 

 windows is suitable for covering or lining cribs. As rats can climb 

 the netting, the entire structure must be screened, or, if sparrows are 

 not to be excluded, the wire netting may be carried up about 3 

 feet from the ground, and above this a belt of sheet metal about a 

 foot in width may be tacked to the outside of the building. 



Complete working drawings for the practical rat-proof corncrib 

 shown in figures 3 and 4 may be obtained from the Office of Public 

 Roads and Rural Engineering of the department. 



Buildings for storing foodstuffs. — Whenever possible, stores of food 

 for man or beast should be placed only in buildings of rat-proof 

 construction, guarded against rodents by having all windows near 

 the ground and all other possible means of entrance screened with 

 netting made of No. 18 or No. 20 wire and of |-inch mesh. Entrance 

 doors should fit closely, should have the lower edges protected by 

 wide strips of metal, and should have springs attached, to insure that 

 they shall not be left open. Before being used for housing stores, 

 the building should be inspected as to the manner in which water, 



