206 
THE KAT. 
eight hours without food or water ; consequently the instant 
they poke their heads out of their holes, in the search of 
either, they are prisoners ; and in the morning nothing 
remains to be done but to destroy them, which may be done 
by a dog, or with a stick ; or if you have a box-trap in the 
corner of the room, the instant you enter they are most 
likely to run into it to escape ; and then you can do with 
them as you please. But some one will lay down poisoned 
food and water, in order to save the trouble of killing them. 
In that case you need only pick them up and throw them 
out, or bury their carcasses in the dung- heap. On the other 
hand, should there be any cracks in the flooring, or under 
the skirting where the flooring has given way, and in and 
out of which the rats can run at pleasure, you must stop 
the places with wood, or any other material, so that they 
cannot get in and out of any place but their holes. If not, 
you render the traps useless ; and in that case all I can 
recommend is, to catch them one by one, wibh any of 
the ordinary traps ; or else bait the place with poisoned food 
and plenty of water, in large plates or low dishes, and keep 
the place very quiet, because, if they are much disturbed, 
they may have just strength enough to crawl away, but not 
to get back again ; consequently they would die and rot in 
their holes ; and how often are people compelled to have the 
flooring taken up, or the wainscoating removed, to get at 
their putrid carcasses ? This again proves that the first 
trouble or expense is by far the least. 
In the event of your using Uncle James's traps, never fail 
to go the first thing in the morning, and get rid of the 
prisoners. If not, and you neglect them, they will have time, 
and may gnaw their way out, and then you will have to put 
a trap over the new hole. But I must tell you, that I never 
knew a rat to gnaw a hole through the flooring or skirting 
in one night. It is mostly a work of time. 
Again, should you have any doubt as to whether there are 
any rats in a particular place, it can soon be ascertained by 
sifting a little sand around the holes. You must lay it on 
very thin, and in the morning you will see their marks, if 
there be any ; but if there are none, the sand will remain the 
same as you left it. 
While the work of destruction is proceeding on your pre- 
