households by completely ridding
the premises of the vermin.

Another excellent form of Barrel Trap is that embodying the principle
described in page (131). A circular platform should be first constructed
and hinged in the opening of the barrel This may be done by driving
a couple of small nails through the sides of the barrel into a
couple of staples inserted near the opposite edges of the platform.
The latter should be delicately weighted, as described on the above
mentioned page, and previously to setting, should be baited in a
stationary position for several days to gain the confidence of
the rats. The bait should at last be secured to the platform with
gum, and the bottom of the barrel of course filled with water, as
already described. This trap possesses the same advantages as the
foregoing. It is _self-setting_, and unfailing in its action.

Another method consists in half-filling the barrel with oats, and
allowing the rats to enjoy their repast there for several days.
When thus attracted to the spot, remove the oats, and pour the same
bulk of water into the barrel, sprinkling the surface thickly with
the grain. The delusion is almost perfect, as will be effectually
proven when the first rat visits the spot for his accustomed free
lunch. Down he goes with a splash, is soon drowned, and sinks to
the bottom. The next shares the same fate, and several more are
likely to be added to the list of misguided victims.

[Page 128]
Many of the devices described throughout this work may be adapted
for domestic use to good purpose. The box-trap page 103, box-snare,
page 55, figure-four, page 107, are all suitable for the capture
of the rat; also, the examples given on pages 106, 109, 110, and
129.

The steel-trap is often used, but should always be concealed from
view. It is a good plan to set it in a pan covered with meal, and
placed in the haunts of the rats. The trap may also be set at the
mouth of the rats' hole, and covered with a piece of dark-colored
cloth or paper. The runways between boxes, boards, and the like
offer excellent situations for the trap, which should be covered,
as before directed.

Without one precaution, however, the trap may be set in vain. Much
of the so-called shrewdness of the rat is nothing more than an
instinctive caution, through the acute sense of smell which the
animal possesses; and a trap which has secured one victim will
seldom extend its list, unless all traces of its first occup