The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-12-20
AN ELECTRICAL RAT-TRAp.
Shoots Mr.. Rat Into the Air in somer
saults.

saults
Electricity is really becoming u very
useful thing in its way. The eIec.ricnl
supply house in Kansas City is usin.. it
to kill its rats. The basement of the
house IS infested with rodents. Which
| have little respect for property, and eat
| the insulation materal OF the wires and
| the fatty substance about tho electrical
machines for dessert. One noon rpcrntIv
one OF the men went to take down his
lunch basket, which was hanginr ON n
nail against the wall. He felt his lunch
becoming very much dgitateh and it
jumped around in the basket AMAZINGLY.
Lifting the lii of the basket large brown
| rat with gray whskcrs jumped ont. car
ryiug the mans lunch away i'm his into.
rior. The rat had climbed up to the bus.
hat in some unaccountaEle manner, and.
having eaten IL hole in the bottom. crawl.
ed into it and eat the lunch at his leisure,
becoming so full that it couldn't get out
of the holcand too satisfied to eat the hole
large, says the Kansas City 'Star.'
But the rats trick proved it's own I'M
doing. The man was so angry Mt losing
his lunch that he determined thencefortb
to catch that ra6 and all his family. So
he bought steel trap, and, after batting
1T with cheese, hung it on the accustomed
nail. Before going home that night he
had the pleasure of securing fine, large
| rat that had probably heard from the old
rat with the gray whskcrs of his method
of securing Il free lunch. The next morn.
ing another rat was caught and many
thereafter until ut last old gray whiskers
was caught himself, ana then, the basket
being about worn out, and having tul.
filled It's mission, was thrown away.
But about killing rats with electricity.
At this electrical establishment it takes
5000 ohms of electricity and ut least
three men to dispatch IL rat. This is the
| manner of their death; When IL cellar
rat is caught by the paws in steel trap the
tlapis brought upstairs, carefully carried
by the chain ut arm 5 ..length, for cellar
rats will fight, and its bite is unwhole-
some. Tie electrician then comes for
waid with II magnetic bell machine. IA
sort of young dynamo, with II resistance
| Of 3l.0OJ ohms. 10 the machine are at.
| tacaed two long insulated wires.
| Tie rat is laid on an iron plate \
man takes one wire and applies the I'M
covered end to the iron plate. The man
| who is looking after the rat takes the
other wire and poles the rat with the
bare end OF it, The rat resents this, of
coui Sc, and bites ut the wire. The man
With the mnchine grinds industriously
until the bell rings. which it does when
l IL.
| The eXasperitci rat bites ut the wire,
and quicker than you can say '..Iacll
| Robinson he is dead. But his taking
| oil has amounted almost to II function.
| They also have an electrical method of
| catching rats in the electricians cellar.
y large square plate OF ironls placed on
| the floor, and above it another plate, not
| so large and separated from the
| other, mt the distance of an inch or so by
| porcelain iusulators. TO each plate i,
attached y wire connected with Il dynamo
having II 900 volt alternating current.
! On the upper iron plate is scattered Il
seductive luncheon Of bacon rinds old
| cheese and tallow. The mouths of the
| rats down in the deepest holes begin to
water when the odor of this feast uer~
mcates to them, and they come Hooking
! to it,
When Il rat steps on the lower plate the
| current has no effect on him. but the
| instant he puts his paws ON the upper
| plate to reach for the cheese the full force
| of the electricity reaches every part of
his sinewy body, and, contracting it sud.
denly, shoots him into the air i'll somer-
| saults. The other rats, observing this,
think he is jumping for joy and hasten to
| the feast. One after the other they are
shot into the air and fall to the floor
stunned, when they are easily captured
! and killed. Thus it is that science lends
itself to even so humble an occupation
as rat killing