165 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 14, 1858. 
A CHEAP AND MOST EFFECTUAL RAT-TRAP. 
A. Strir.!?, twelve inches long. 
IS. Stout hooked peg, five inches long. 
C. Bridge peg, two inches and a half long 
Seven inches from D. to end of noose, as above. 
D. Slight prop peg, three inches and a half long. 
E. Slit, for rat wire to rest in. 
!•'. Noose of wire, of oval shape, two inches long, by one inch deep. 
I have derived bo many valuable hints from your excellent 
serial, from time to time, that I am induced to contribute thereto 
a description of my gardener’s ingenious yet simple rat-trap, with 
a sketch thereof, which, however, your draughtsman will improve, 
after seeing the several parts, sent herewith, fixed in the ground, 
agreeably to the following directions—viz.: Take a Hazel twig, 
eleven feet long ; fix one end firmly into the ground ; then bend 
it down, and affix to the other end (nicked to secure the same) 
a piece of string a foot long (a), which tie to the bridge-peg (c), 
leaving the end free; and to this end attach the rat-wire and 
noose F, which is then passed through the slit e, and from 
its stiffness can be carried out, as a running noose, in the 
manner indicated in the diagram,—this wire being placed hori¬ 
zontally at right angles to the Hazel twig, at the height of an 
inch from the surface, and right across the run of the rat, stoat, 
or weasel. The action of the trap is this the rat runs himself into 
the noose r, which closes on its neck immediately ; and the wire 
being disengaged at once from the slit e, in one direction or the 
other, the rat is jerked into the air by the bent twig ; and there 
remains suspended securely, dead or alive, according to the time 
it has continued so strangled. With this efficacious trap, my 
gardener, Mr. John Crisp, has caught eight rats in three hours 
time! My neighbours, hereabouts, are infested with rats equally 
with myself, and pay 3 d. a-head for all that are killed. Such of 
your readers, therefore, as are troubled with this vermin, if not 
able, from this description of mine, and the sketch accompanying 
it, to make this trap, can procure, per post (pre-paid), the several 
parts thereof (the twig not included, of course), by enclosing 
Mr. J. Crisp a shilling’s worth of stamps, with their address in 
full.—H. E. Austen, Lieut,-Col., The Pavilion , Aid week, Bognor. 
THE WINTER GARDEN. 
The readers of The Cottage Garbener may remem¬ 
ber, that some time ago I described the mode in which 
the flower-beds at Moor Park, the seat of the Right Hon. 
Lord Grosvenor, were planted in winter by Mr. Sparrow, 
the gardener, with dwarf evergreen shrubs, with the 
happiest effect. I remarked at the time, that beds so 
jfhniished were interesting, and infinitely superior to 
Dare, naked beds, or even such as had small branches 
of evergreens stuck in them. It is true, when the family 
departs to London, or elsewhere, about tire time the 
summer flowers are over, it is of less consequence ; and, 
perhaps, the labour and expense of forming a winter 
flower garden may be dispensed with. 
I am much pleased, however, that the practice is on the 
increase. On the 18th of last month I had to visit the 
gardens belonging to Archibald Hawkesley, Esq., The 
Dell, on the borders of the great forest, Windsor, where 
Mr. S. Smitli is the gardener. Here I found a large 
flower garden converted into a winter garden, every bed 
being thickly covered with low evergreen shrubs, or ever¬ 
green herbaceous flowers. 
I also called, the same day, at Cooper’s Hill, the seat 
of Sir John Cathcart, Bart., about a mile from The Dell, 
and found Mr. Dodds had planted his flower-beds in 
a similar style, though slightly different. Below is a 
list of the plants used at The Dell for this purpose, 
which list may be useful to anyone desirous of imitating 
such a practice. I should have been glad of a sketch of 
each garden, to show the exact position of each kind ; 
but I could spare no time to take such a sketch. It 
may suffice, perhaps, to say, that each bed was filled 
with one kind of shrub, or plant, so as to form a dense 
mass. 
In the gardens of the first-mentioned place (The Dell), 
I noticed a rather extraordinary shrub, or small tree : it 
was a double, white, Camellia. The gardener stated,— 
and truly, too, in my opinion,—that it is one of the finest 
of its kind in the country. It grows against a south-east 
wall, untrained, and without any protection ; blooms 
every season the astounding number of upwards of 5,000 
flowers ; and is in the most luxuriant health imaginable : 
it is fifteen feet high, and ten broad. Also, an equally 
large Magnolia conspicua, which blooms quite as freely, 
and which is extremely free of growth. This place has 
been greatly improved—in fact, almost entirely re-made— 
within the last two years. I was shown a Taxodium 
senvpervirens, upwards of twenty feet high, that had been 
brought from a nursery, last year, twelve miles off, which, 
I saw, was thriving as well as if it had never been moved. 
Also, many other Coniferoe, almost as large, especially a 
Chinese Arbor vita;, all growing remarkably well, showing 
that, witli moderate care, trees of a large size may be 
safely trausplanted. In the vineries, there are some very 
old Vines. The houses have been widened, and these old 
Vines spared till the young ones furnished the rafters. 
Odd-looking trees they are, certainly. The house plants 
are young as yet, but are progressing well towards the 
specimen state. 
At Cooper’s Hill, I found great improvement in plants. 
The Orchids are fresh and healthy, especially several of 
Phalsenopsis, one of which had several healthy leaves 
quite eighteen inches long. Mr. Dodds is well known 
as a successful exhibitor at the metropolitan shows. 
Indeed, this last season, he has taken more prizes than 
anyone else. He is also a good manager in other matters. 
I saw some Pine plants, of a full size, planted out, that 
were suckers only this last spring. Over these are grow, 
ing Cucumbers, trained up the rafters, like Vines, and 
