St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-10-16

/ rat CatcNCr tl ~. Louis Ills traps are
not cheap trhcs, and there are many
persons who hire him to set the con-
| trivances in their places, paying cents
for each Of the little pests that is cap
turcd. The largest restaurants afford
johnson considerable work. But the
hotels, which would naturally be ex-
pected to offer u favorable field for
Johnson's work. do not figure as among
his good patrons. He says that the rat
is one of the most cautious of animals,
and that the meddlesomeness of hostelry
attaches prevents successful trap setting
i'll hotels. One big down town establish
ment was rid Of SO rats in one night.
Both Johnson and Henry Helm attend
to the formers traps. They make daily
rounds, setting the contrivances or dis
posing of the captives. When land
lord wishes his place rid of rats, he in
forms John on of that portion Of the
house where the little animals do most
of their foraging
For tie first night or two the trap is
can nibble the bait and afterward es-
cape On the day that Johnson finds all
the cheese and crackers i'll the boxlike
contrivance have been devoured during
the night he attaches an auxiliary trap,
into which the captive rats are to be
forced out of the view of prospective
prisoners. Thus fully 100 rats can be
caught i'll one trap in one night
Johnson says that he doesn't contract
to entirely rid a place of rats. He thinks
he ''knows as much about the business
as any one else" and says that when
the rodents have firmly established
themselves in house it is almost i'm
possible to drive them out A ferret, he
says, might destroy the nest and the
trap catch all the rats in the house, but
if the locality is particularly favorable
for rodent light neighboring pests are
most likely to move into the place.
"Times are changed" said an old
timer. Il remember when a man had
to work sight harder than he does
now before he'd get several pieces of sill
yer for "a hours rat catching. In those
days these newfangled traps weren't
known
"There used to be fellow living
down on the levee that knew more about
rats than jockey knows about race
horses He had a partner, and both of
them worked all kinds of schemes on the
little creatures. These two men had q
way of spreading bait on cellar floor
and then sneaking in ON rubber boots.
One of them carried sack and queer
pair of tongs. The other had a bulls
eye lantern with sliding panel.
They'd sit in the dark as quiet as q
graveyard until the rats commenced
fighting and quareling or until they
knew the place was full of the varmints.
'"Then the lantern would be turned
on suddenly, and the rats, who are as
afraid of light as am of ghosts, would
stand stock still. The man with the
tongs-and he was quicker than creased
lightning-wOuld pick up the pests and
fire them into the sack before the little
things knew what was up Sometimes
they d bag as many as 40 at a crack,
but at other times the rats would be-
come accustomed to the light and scam.
per away before 20 of their comrades
had been nabbed. "
But the science of rat catching has
fewer opponents than has the art of rat
killing Housekeepers are not generally
anxious to have the little animals about
them, and hence they pay more attention
to the ways of exercising the pests than
they do to means of capturing them.
In addition to the time worn scheme
of poisoned bait, there are number Of
unique plans that are operated from
time to time by landlords who have lost
patience with the domestic marauders.
An ingenious individual some time ago
devised a plan of painting captive rat
with a phosphorescent preparation and
then turning it loose. The released rat
would return to its nest, and there its
effulgent coat would brighten the other
rats out of all their instincts save that
of fear
There would be a pellmell fight, and
as rats go in droves the painted rodent
would run in their midst, increasing
their fright and Fastening their fight
Some one suggested that the little ami
mails would either run themselves to
death or continue their chase until
dawn, when, in the sunlight, the phos-
phorus would lose its brilliance. Even
in the latter event the little animals
would have left their previous haunts
1t is known that rats despise the odor
of turpentine Some housewives, when
bothered by the domestic pests, catch
one in trap, and, after bathing it in
turpentine, release it, This plan is said
to have almost as efficacious an effect as
the phosphorescent paint
There are some persons who claim
that belling a rat will drive its com.
rades from their nest As usual thing,
however, the bell becomes detached
from the pest to which it was tied be.
fore the desired end is attained But
strong wire is expected to circumvent
such a contingency. st. Louis Globe
Democrat