300 
AMERICAN AGrRICULTUniST. 
[August, 
and economical, portable steam-engines as yet 
constructed, known as the Baxter steam-engine. 
The New York Legislature, at its last session, 
completed its share of an arrangement by 
ft 
Fig. 1. —SIDE-VIEW OI? THAP. 
which $35,000 of the premium money is award¬ 
ed to Mr. Baxter, on condition that 20 of his 
boats are placed upon the canal immediately. 
This will be done, and the present season will 
see steam navigation inaugurated, and the use 
of horses and mules dispensed with, or at least 
a beginning made towards this desired result. 
The economy of this new system is great, and 
will largely reduce the total cost of grain trans¬ 
portation. The official report of the trials of the 
Baxter canal-boat credits it with a speed of 31 
miles in 10 hours, or 74 miles in 24 hours, with 
the almost incredib¬ 
ly small consump¬ 
tion of less than 
15 pounds of coal 
per mile, when car¬ 
rying 200 tons of 
freight. The speed 
is doubled, and 
the cost of carriage 
is reduced one-half, 
which makes the 
cost of freight by 
these boats only 
about one - fourth 
that of the boats 
drawn by horses. 
The Commission¬ 
ers who super¬ 
intended the trials, 
estimate the saving- 
on the business of 
the Erie canal alone 
at four millions 
of dollars, and on 
all the canals of the 
country at ten mil¬ 
lions of dollars. Be¬ 
sides, as two tons can be carried over the 
canals where one was carried before, without 
extra expense, the value of the canals, just as 
soon as the new boats can be made to replace 
the old ones, will be doubled. It is difficult to 
estimate the advantage which the agricultural 
interest will gain from this improvement, but 
it is well worth while to consider, especially at 
the present moment, how this interest is de¬ 
pendent upon the ingenuity of inventors, the 
skillful labors of mechanics, and the beneficent 
uses of capital. Without either of these, or all 
of them combined, the agricultural interest 
would depend solely upon itself, and in that 
sole self-dependence would be reduced to in¬ 
significance and helplessness. IIow closely 
every industrial interest is bound up with the 
Thoughtful brain of the inventor, and both 
with capital, which is only another term for 
accumulated work or industry, is here very 
clearly shown. The Baxter canal-boat, as may 
be seen in our illustration, is not very different 
from an ordinary boat in its capacity or con¬ 
struction, except that it carries its own motive 
power in the hold. With the contemplated 
enlargement of the canals, increased efficiency 
will be given to steam transportation. 
A Permanent Rat-Trap. 
It is hardly safe to venture an estimate of 
the amount of grain yearly destroyed by rats, 
because we might be so far under the mark. 
We know a case in which the com crop of a 
field of 13 acres was put away into a mow 
with the ears on, so that it might be cut up 
together and steamed for the stock, and three- 
fourths of it was destroyed by the rats, and 
rendered useless. This is an extreme case, but 
the damage to corn in cribs and unfinished 
grain in barns is vastly greater than farmers 
generally suspect. It is true that these pests 
are hard to get rid of, that they are sagacious 
and cunning, and that their perseverance is 
remarkable. But a man should know more 
than a rat, and he has but to exercise equal 
perseverance with these enemies to vanquish 
them. Where it is possible, the best thing to do, 
is to remove every hiding place by elevating- 
the buildings upon posts or pillars of brick or 
stone, and letting daylight beneath them. 
Rats love darkness, and will not harbor or breed 
in places where they are exposed to view. The 
pig-pens, which are favorite resorts for them, 
should be raised well up above the ground, 
and the pigs will be all the better for it. The 
stables should have paved floors, and the sills 
should be placed on a brick underpining. The 
barn, if there is no basement, should be raised 
upon pillars or short walls two feet high, so 
that dogs or cats can get under them. If this 
can be done, and every rat that is seen is hunt¬ 
ed down perseveringly until it is caught, the 
pests will desert the place as being unwhole¬ 
some for them. Where thorough work is not 
possible, they may be induced to desert their 
quarters by one or two effectual raids made 
upon them by means of the contrivance which 
we here illustrate. It should be set up in an 
outhouse, or a quiet part of a barn or stable. 
It consists of a long narrow box, three or four 
feet long, and six or eight inches wide and 
deep. This is set upon another box about 30 
inches high, with sloping sides, so that the first 
box forms the top part of the second box; 
the first box is open at the top for about a 
foot at the rear end; all this is seen at fig. 1. 
This open part is partly filled with corn or com 
ears. Immediately in front of this part there 
is a loose bottom neatly fitted upon pins, so 
that it will open downwards with the weight 
of a rat. A piece of lead is fastened to it 
to keep it in position, or restore it to its 
place after it has been disturbed. The front 
of the box is partly hidden with a couple 
of sheaves of corn 
stalks or rye straw 
which furnish a 
ready means of ac¬ 
cess for the rats. At 
the bottom of the 
second box there is a 
narrow box or tube 
fitted, which leads 
through the wall 
of the building- into 
a barrel half sunk 
into the ground 
outside, as shown 
in fig. 2. A loose 
trap is also fitted 
at the end of the 
tube. The barrel 
is -covered with a 
wide board with a 
hole in the center to 
admit the light. A 
few pails full of wa¬ 
ter are put into the 
barrel. At first the 
loose bottom is peg¬ 
ged fast and the rats 
quickly finding out the way to the corn, are 
allowed to gather there for a week or two, and 
are fed liberally. When they have taken full 
possession, the pegs are taken away, and the 
pivots are greased, and the rats are caught one 
after the other. As they find their way to the 
barrel, attracted there by the light, which they 
can see through the tube, they are drowned 
and their bodies may be scooped out daily. 
The number caught in this way is astonishing, 
and for a time afterwards few, if any, rats will 
be seen about the place. Then the pegs may 
be replaced, and the rats encouraged to gather 
again. The contrivance is a permanent one, 
and will pay for the attention it requires. It. 
is not a new thing, and has been used with 
great success for many years, but is probably 
new to most of our readers. 
BAXTER’S PRIZE STEAM CANAL-BOAT. 
