There are four distinct methods of rat extermination, viz.: 1. Traps. 2. Poisons. 3. Cats, Dogs, and Ferrets. 4. Human Rat-catchers. We will first give some practical hints on

I.—TRAPS.

The rat is by no means one of the least intelligent of quadrupeds, and there is one thing we feel solid about—when he knows you really want to trap him he'll do his level best to avoid your kind intentions. There are shoals of ingenious rat-traps with plenty of mechanism in them which are certainly good as long as you don't plainly advertise them to the rats, which is about equal to saying "Look out, rats, this is a trap for you, with a bait!" After you have put out this charitable notice nary a rodent will you catch. We will now show how most simple people, after catching a lone specimen, give themselves "dead away," to speak classically, to all the rats there are in the neighborhood. Get a trap, no matter of what shape, material or brand—but by all means get one that doesn't let the rat out again after he has been once caught. Bait it with anything nice and tempting, and put it near the rat-hole, just where they come out, any time before you go to bed. In the morning you probably find you have caught a rat—maybe a big, grizzled old fellow with a scabby tail, or else a young one, half frightened to death—anyway it is a rat, and a real live one at that, and you can forthwith proceed to kill him. Now clean your trap and smoke it out. Bait it again with the same care and, hundred to one, you find—no rat. The mystery of it is this: The first rat that came out of the hole on the first night saw you had put down something for him, so he sniffed the dainty bait and remarked under his breath that he was a devilish lucky dog and that he had struck a superior sort of a free lunch all to himself. With that he entered—the trap snapped harshly and cruelly, and the nervous little animal became frightened and sought to escape from his seeming abode of luxury. He couldn't get out, squealed long and plaintively, and worked hard against the sides of his prison. Bye and bye all the other rats came out to see the cause of all the racket. After investigating they find their young friend has been dolefully sold, and together make and keep a vow to steer clear of your traps ever afterwards. This is why you catch but one rat and no more; for a much more stupid and less nervous animal than a rat is would keep away from a similar arrangement in the future. We shall now try the experiment over again, but in a different fashion. Suppose we select a big round trap with falling doors at the sides and a hole on top. First be sure that the doors lift up and fall down very easily. If the bottom of the trap is of wire place it on sawdust, so that the rats are comfortable in it. Put the trap away from the hole, near the wall of the cellar, if in winter near the warmest place, always in a dark spot. As our friend likes comfort so much, put a bag over the trap, so that he can find the falling doors easily. Get some rags scented with about fifteen drops of either oil of rhodium, oil of carraway, oil of aniseed, or a mixture of these oils. First tie a string around them and swab them around the rat-holes, then drag them on the ground near the wall, to the place where the rat-trap is and rub the rags well over it, then put them in. Have some nice tempting bait in the trap, either carrots, meat, broiled bacon, or cheese—anything fresh will do—but be careful to put in enough of it. If the trap is placed as we have above directed the rat will get in and not try to escape. Make the trap as much unlike a trap and as much like a natural hiding-place as possible. If this is done, it is highly probable you will have your cage chock-full of rats the next morning. It is very seldom this fails, but if it should not succeed the first night proceed as follows: Put the trap exactly as I have told you, with the exception to tie up the sliding doors. Let it stand there until the rats have eaten it out several times, replacing the bait. After the rats get used to frequent the place and think they have a "soft snap" on you, let down your falling doors again and you have them all!

After all is said and done, the most practical of all rat-traps is my little "Special Steel Trap," which catches one rat at a time, but its cost is so reasonable that you can have a dozen of them for the price of one of the big wire ones. It is an utter impossibility for the rats to avoid being caught if the traps are properly placed, and it can, with ease, be so nicely adjusted that the gentlest touch of a rat's paw will insure his immediate capture. And when Mister Rat has put down that little paw of his he is as securely held as if he were nailed to the floor. I have over ten thousand of these traps in use in my professional rat-exterminating operations and sell barrels of them. The larger the space to be covered the more traps are required, and, where it is possible, remove your rat as soon as caught. Place the traps in the natural run of the rats; around swill-barrels, along the walls, etc. Its chief practical beauty is its innocent appearance, as there is nothing about its placid surface which tells the rats of its unerring aim. With every trap we furnish a chain-attachment and fastener; the latter is for the purpose of securing it to the flooring and prevents the rats from dragging the trap. As this Special Steel Trap is a boon to large institutions, ships, shops, factories, stores, hotels, office-buildings, flat-houses, warehouses, private dwellings, slaughter-houses, etc., etc., I quote the following prices on it, which are net:

II.—POISONS.

The common rat poisons are Arsenic, Strychnine and Paris-green. These are put up by enterprising people under a multitude of suggestive names, without specifying the kind of poisons used, however, or even a warning of their being poisonous, as the law implicitly directs. There is, indeed, a great deal of criminal negligence in the way these poisons are put upon the market, as in some the proportion of poison is so great that it would kill an elephant—whereas it should be exactly graded to the rat's capacity. The proportion of arsenic in one very-much-advertised rat-poison now in use, as analyzed by Dr. Otto Grothe, a Brooklyn chemist, consists of 98.19 per cent. pure arsenic and 1.81 per cent. admixtures (coal, etc.). Would-be suicides and murderers have made use of these poisons extensively. Poisons in powdery form—such as arsenic and strychnine—are liable, very easily, indeed, to get mixed up with food, and have in that way been a powerful death-dealing agency. Their peculiar effect on the rats is to allow them to get over-doses, causing violent vomiting, followed by complete failure to kill or drive out. The Phosphoric Paste, the "Sure Pop" brand of which is very carefully manufactured by the present writer, is free from all of these objections, as it is in salve form and very hard to be accidentally mixed up with edibles of any kind. It is impossible for the rats to receive overdoses of it; and the phosphorus has the effect of burning and irritating them internally and forcing them to run for fresh air. Arsenic and strychnine rat-poisons are usually prepared in such heavy quantities that the rats prematurely die in the holes. On the other hand, the amount of actual poisonous matter in this "Sure Pop" Phosphoric Paste has been exactly proportioned to the rat's system, making the amount of poison very slight. There is no secret at all in the compounding of this preparation, but it requires much experience and study of the rat's nature, preferences and habits to make it so that it will work with proper effect. The utmost daintiness is also required in the handling of all its ingredients. We have practically shown on page 40 how the smell of phosphorus is the most powerful of attractions known to the rat, and how it will operate when everything else fails.

III.—DOGS, CATS AND FERRETS.

The claims of cats as one of the rat remedies we shall have to dismiss in very short order, as the exceptional cases in which they do good work are altogether too few and far between. The only domestic animal which really possesses value in hunting rats is the ferret, as, by reason of its india-rubber joints, it can pursue its prey home. Any terrier—no matter what variety—having a fair amount of intelligence can be broken in with ferrets, so that your ferret can do the hunting out and the dog—at the proper moment—can do the killing. The fox-terrier is by far the best ratting-terrier. He is quick, understands and remembers what is taught him, is full of ambition, and readily learns to regard the ferrets as his partners in the rat-hunt.

IV.—HUMAN RAT-CATCHERS.

The directions given with each of the remedies advocated by me are so plain that anyone can successfully put them into use. Where the rats have got altogether too thick, or where they hold possession of a place in such a way that there appears no clue to dislodging them, it is quite advisable to call in an expert. To this effect I have perfected a regular system of rat-exterminating in which the remedies I mention in this book are systematically applied—under my own superintendence—by a corps of experts. Through this improved system I am enabled to take contracts to exterminate rats (and also other vermin) from any kind of building in any city or town in the United States, providing the job is large enough. Correspondence on the subject given prompt attention.