on the floor near the flour barrel. On the following
morning the jar was occupied by a little mouse, and each successive
night for a week added one to the list of victims. A stiff piece
of tin, bent into the required shape, may be substituted for the
funnel top, or even a very heavy piece of pasteboard might answer.

BOWL TRAPS.

Very effective extempore traps may be set up in a few minutes by
the use of a few bowls. There are two methods commonly employed.
One consists of the bowl and a knife-blade. An ordinary tableknife
is used and a piece of cheese is firmly forced on to the end of
the blade, the bowl is then balanced on the edge, allowing the
bait to project about an inch and a half beneath the bowl. The odor
of cheese will attract a mouse almost anywhere, and he soon finds
[Page 136]
his way to the tempting morsel in this case. A very slight nibble
is sufficient to tilt the blade and the bowl falls over its prisoner.

In the second method a thimble is used in place of the knife. The
cheese is forced into its interior, and the open end of the thimble
inserted far beneath the bowl, allowing about half its length to
project outward.

The mouse is thus obliged to pass under the bowl in order to reach
the bait, and in his efforts to grasp the morsel, the thimble is
dislodged and the captive secured beneath the vessel. Where a small
thimble is used, it becomes necessary to place a bit of pasteboard
or flat chip beneath it, in order to raise it sufficiently to afford
an easy passage for the mouse. Both of these devices are said to
work excellently.

FLY PAPER.

A sheet of common paper, smeared with a mixture composed of molasses
one part, and bird-lime six parts (see page 97), will be found to
attract large numbers of flies and hold them prisoners upon its
surface.

Spruce gum, warmed on the fire, and mixed with a little linseed
oil, is also excellent. For a genuine fly trap, the following stands
unrivalled.

FLY TRAP.

Take a tumbler, and half-fill it with strong soap suds. Cut a circle
of stiff paper which will exactly fit into the top of the glass.
In the centre of the paper cut a hole half an inch in diameter,
or, better still, a slice of bread may be placed on the glass.
Smear one side of the disc with molasses, and insert it in the
tumbler with this side downward. Swarms of flies soon surround
it, and one by one find their way downward through the hole. Once
below the paper, and their doom is s