4 



embankments by burrowing; destroys the farmers' pigs, eggs, and 

 young poultry; eats the eggs and young of song and game birds; 

 and damages foundations, floors, doors, and furnishings of dwellings. 



METHODS OF DESTROYING RATS. 



A compilation of all the methods of destro3dng rats practiced in 

 historic times would fill a volume. Unfortunately, the greater num- 

 ber of them are worthless or impracticable. Few have more than 

 temporary effect upon their numbers, and even the best of them fail 

 unles.s persistently applied. Conditions vary so much that no one 

 method of dealing with this pest is applicable in all cases. Among 

 the more important measures to be recommended for actively com- 

 bating the broAvn rat are : (1) Poisons; (2) traps; (3) ferrets; (4) 

 fumigation, and (5) rat-proof construction of buildings. 



POISONING. 



Barium Carbonate. — One of the cheapest and most effective poisons 

 for rats and mice is barium carbonate, or barytes. This mineral has 

 the advantage of being without taste or smell; and, in the small 

 quantities used in poisoning rats and mice, is harmless to larger ani- 

 mals. Its action on rodents is slow, but reasonably sure, and has the 

 further advantage that the animals before dying, if exit be possible, 

 usually leave the premises in search of water. Its employment in 

 houses, therefore, is rarely follow^ed by the annoying odor which 

 attends the use of the more virulent poisons. 



The poison may be fed in the form of a dough made of one- 

 fifth barytes and four-fifths meal, but a more convenient bait is 

 ordinary oatmeal, with about one-eighth of its bulk of barytes, 

 mixed with water into a stiff dough; or the barytes may be spread 

 upon bread and butter or moistened toast. The prepared bait should 

 be placed in rat runs, a small quantity at a place. If a single appli- 

 cation of the poison fails to drive all rats from the premises, it should 

 be repeated with a change of bait. 



Strychnine. — Strychnine is a more virulent poison, but its action 

 is so rapid that the animals often die upon the premises, a cir- 

 cumstance which prohibits its use in occupied dwellings. Else- 

 where strychnine may be employed with great success. Dry strych- 

 nine crystals may be inserted in small pieces of raw meat, Vienna 

 sausage, or toasted cheese, and these placed in the rat runs; or oat- 

 meal may be wet with a strychnine sirup, and small quantities laid 

 out in the same way. 



Strychnine sirup is prepared as follows: Dissolve a half ounce of 

 strychnia sulphate in a pint of boiling water; add a pint of thick 



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