Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-07-24
TRAPS AND SHARES.
CONTRIVANCES THAT SHOW WHAT
A GENIUS THE YANKEE is.
fou Would Call Most Of the Inventions ABB
surdities. and Yet They Are Useful-De-
vices For Poisoning Pests-Rattraps of
Many Kinds.

Many Kinds.
American invention has given birth
to no end of freaks, which have been
embalmed at the patent Office in order
that they may not perish. Some of the
queerest Of them are devices for entrap-
ping beasts, bugs fishes and even human
beings.
What, for example, could be funnier
that the notion of using imitation flow
ers with poisoned honey to attract nox-
ious insects? The artificial blossoms,
each containing a small quantity of sug-
airy liquid properly prepared, are to be
fastened to <wigs Months of destruct-
i've species sip the deadly nectar and
die. A moro elaborate device of SINH
lar description is intended for the pro-
lection of apple trees. 1t is tin can COW
cred as to its upper half with luminous
paint. On the outside of the lower half
apple blossoms are represented with the
same sort of paint Inside of the recep-
tacle is small quantity of cider. The
can is to be hung on n branch of an ap.
pie tree at night, Insects, attracted by
the pictured flowers, light upon the can.
The smell of the cider induces them to
enter through holes provided for that
purpose. They then drop down into the
cider and are drowned.
Yet it is not always easy to distin-
guish between crank idea and a use
ful discovery. The pGssoned counterfeits
OF flowers above described are said to
work very well. Many years ago man
got q patent for 4 method Of killing
bugs on trees by inclosing the whole
tree i'll n sort of balloon of canvas, into
which an asphyxiating gas was to be
poured for the purpose of suffocating
the insects. Everybody thought he was
lUnatic. But now that his patent has
run out the merits of the plan have
suddenly obtained appreciation, and its
| adoption Is alleged TO have saved the
orange growing industry in California
Several kinds of luminous bats for fish
| have been patented. One of these is q
| minnow of hollow glass coated on the
| inside partly with a solution of gold or
silver, and partly with luminous paint.
Tho result is very brilliant object in
| the water, calculated to attract any pre-
| dacious creature with fins. Another in
| tcresting continuance is for making frog
bait more seductive. The jerking of the
| line equipped with this device causes
| the frogs legs to move as if he were
swimming.
Contrivances for catching insects are
more numerous than any others. One of
them is 4 furnace for slaughtering po-
tato bugs. To begin with, a deep and
wide fuITow is to be plowed all around
ali infested field. Through this trench
a smooth log is dragged TO make the
surface hard and smooth. The bugs in
migrating TO other grounds are unable
| to scale the trench, and the furnace,
which is q cylinder OF iron filed with
fuel is drawn along the furrow and
destroys them. Other odd devices are
cartridges intended to be inserted in the
mouths OF ant holes and to be fired
| thus communicating sitting vapors to
the subterranean chambers also many
kinds of lamps FOR attracting and burn
ing up the moths of various worms IL
cotton fields. There is a toy pistol for
insects. which sucks them in when he
trigger is pulled.
An ingenious westerner has invented
trap for catching the hOrrfiy which
is such IN enemy to cattle in some parts
of the country. 1t consists most impor-
family of a great frame to which brush
is attached in such a manner that when
the beasts walk through, eager as they
always are to scratch themselves, the
flies will be scraped from their bodies
| 81, e
closed up by means of doors, and the
captured insects are destroyed. Nearly
everybody has heard of the gold tape
worm trap, which the patient swallows.
Bedbug traps are of several varieties,
all of them being intended to afford at
tractive hiding places for these blood
suckers and to be burned or scalded out
afterward
Much ingenuity has been expended
in rattraps. Some of them are so elab.
crate that no full witted rodent would
90 near them. One requires Mr.. Rat tc
come in through a door, which drops
behind and makes him prisoner. See
ing a bright light above, he ascends 4
flight of little steps and trots across q
small plank that is so nicely adjusted as
to balance that his weight causes it tC
tip and throw him into tank OF
water. Another continuance consists OF
double chamber. One chamber has q
glass end, through which Mr.. Rat sees
two or three imitation rats having q
nice time with q bit of cheese. Wish.
ing to join them. he runs around the
box, gets into the other chamber and
IS caught.
There are number of devices which
employ mirrors for the purpose of lur
ing the rat to his fate. He mounts OF
top of barrel and sees toothsomt
piece of cheese. As he approaches it hi
| beholds another rodent-in reality hi:
own reflection i'll a piece of looking
glass-coming for the cheese from tn,
opposite direction. He makes dash t.
get there first, and pivoted boari
drops him into the cask, which is hal
full of water. Rats will swim for {
long time, SO one humanitarian ha,
patented a water trap with little shelves
around the edge and just above the sur
face. On the shelves are placed small lea(