السنه
513
an attractive mixture formed of oatmeal, cheese, sugar, and arse- nic, and at the same time 500 rat traps of the little giant' pattern were distributed in the districts of the city and at Kowloon that have suffered most severely from Plague and placed under the charge of the Sanitary Inspectors in those
districts.
4. The experiment of poisoning the rats proved a failure. At first some quantity of the poisoned food was eaten by the vermin, but after that the cellar was entirely deserted by them and the food left untouched.
The trapping of rats was at first attended
with considerable success, but gradually, in spite of precau- tions in scalding the traps after use and in constantly moving them from district to district, it became very difficult to catch rats with them.
6. The Committee continued in existence till the middle of May .Operations were then suspended except on a small scale in some of the districts. Altogether a thousand rats were caught in the traps.
7. After the Plague which visited this Colony last year had ceased attention was again directed to the kill- ing of rats, and in December last the Sanitary Board asked permission to distribute rat traps free of charge to all ap- plicants and to offer a reward of 2 cents for evry rat, dead or alive, delivered at the Sanitary Board Offices or at the
nearest Police Station until further notice.
Although