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Issued May 31, 1907.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

FARMERS' BULLETIN 297.

METHODS OF DESTROYING RATS.

BY

DAVID E. LANTZ,

_Assistant, Bureau of Biological Survey_.

[Illustration]

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1907.

[Transcriber's Note: Words surrounded by tildes, like ~this~ signifies
words in bold. Words surrounded by underscores, like _this_, signifies
words in italics.]




LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.


U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY,
_Washington, D. C., May 15, 1901_.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith for publication Farmers'
Bulletin No. 297, containing concise directions for the destruction of
rats, prepared by David E. Lantz, an assistant in this Bureau. The
damage done by these rodents, both in cities and in the country, is
enormous, and the calls for practical methods of destroying them are
correspondingly numerous and urgent. It is believed that by following
the directions here given the numbers of this pest can be greatly
reduced and the losses from them proportionally diminished.

Respectfully,

C. HART MERRIAM,
_Chief, Biological Survey_.

HON. JAMES WILSON,
_Secretary of Agriculture_.




CONTENTS.
                               Page.

Introduction                      3

Methods of destroying rats        4

  Poisoning                       4
  Trapping                        5
