POISONING OP RATS. 
257 
it greedily ; then drink till they burst. But as this is a 
most deadly thing, you should be very cautious in the use of 
it, and always wash your hands afterwards. 
Arsenic Fills. — Take two ounces of fine flour ; two ounces 
of lump sugar, beat to a powder ; ten drops of honey ; one 
ounce of arsenic, ground very fine between two marble 
stones ; six drops of the oil of rhodium ; eight drops of the 
oil of caraways ; mix them all well together, and make them 
into a stiff paste, with two or three spoonfuls of milk ; then 
cut it into pills about the size of peas, and lay them where 
the vermin frequent. But always take up what is left in 
the morning, to prevent accidents. 
Such is the information derived from the long experience 
of the celebrated rat-catcher, "Whistling Joe." And now, 
in taking a philosophical view of rat-catching, there appear 
to me but two principal points involved : first, to get the rats 
out of their holes ; secondly, when out, to keep them out. 
The first point needs but a little time and patience, and the 
rats themselves will relieve you of all further trouble ; while 
the second object will be most effectually achieved by Uncle 
James's imperial rat-trap. 
I shall here mention an African mode of poisoning rats, 
through the means of squill, as stated by a traveller in those 
parts. When he was residing in Algeria, he heard of a man in 
great repute among the natives, who sold balls, from the 
eating of which the rats (which were very large and 
numerous) died instantly. He was induced to analyze 
some of the balls of the African alchymist, and found them 
to contain squill, well dried and finely powdered, with a 
fatty body, namely, strong-smelling cheese. The gentleman 
immediately imitated the compound, and says that in more 
than one hundred trials he found that the rats were killed 
instantaneously. The prescription ran as follows : Pow- 
dered Scilla Maritima, or squill bulb powder, two ounces ; 
and eight ounces of strong-smelling Italian cheese ; mix 
them well together, and serve them out in boluses." 
It must be admitted, that to kill rats on the spot by such 
simple means would be a thing most desirable. But unfor- 
tunately, whatever may be the efiect of squill bulb powder 
in Africa, with us in England it is ineffectual ; for I have 
tried it in many cases, and every one proved a failure, at 
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