ARSENIC
,—is a most certain and destructive poison, mentioned here only to demonstrate its utility in clearing premises of rats, which it will infallibly do, if made use of in the following manner. Take (in the season when they are to be obtained) a dozen large apples; let them be pared, and the cores extracted; then chop them exceedingly fine, till they are almost a paste; to which add half an ounce of arsenic, reduced to powder, and two ounces of coarse sugar; mix well, and let this be distributed in their usual haunts, remembering to let earthen pans be set with plenty of water within their reach; and the sudden thirst they are seized with, after eating the smallest quantity of the composition, is so violent, that they drink till unable to move from the spot; and if the preparation is made over night, and the rats are plenty, they will be found in the morning swelled to the utmost extent, and lying dead in different parts, as if they had fallen victims to a fashionable dropsy.