Originally published in the early 1900s, this extremely rare early work on the Rat is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. READ COUNTRY BOOKS have now republished it, using the original text and illustrations. The author was an acknowledged expert upon pests and their extinction. He was also a member of the London College of Pestology and was instrumental with others in placing a "Bill for Rat Destruction" before Parliament in 1908. This important book on Rats and their control, consists of one hundred and seventeen pages containing seventeen Detailed chapters and a number of vintage illustrations: History of the Rat. Species of Rats, Voles and Mice. Description of Same. The Domestic Mouse and How to Deal with It. Habits of the Rat, and its Fecundity. Waste of Food, and Damage Caused by Rats. The Rat as a Carrier of Disease and a Menace to Health. Natural Enemies of the Rat. The Rodier System. How to Kill Rats. Stopping. Flooding and Smoking. Ferreting. Trapping. Poisons. Bacterial Cultures. Rats on the Estate, Farm, and in Outbuildings. Rats in Shops, Factories, Warehouses and Dwellings. Rats in Sewers. Rats on Board Ships. Suggested Measures. Deratisation. Also retained are numerous original adverts for Traps, Poisons, Rat Lime and Rat Varnish, Baits and other requisites for the destruction of the rat. This is a fascinating read for any pest control enthusiast or naturalist historian, with much of the information remaining practical and useful today. Many of the earlier Natural History and Rural books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. READ COUNTRY BOOKS are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Originally published in 1924, this rare early work on rats and their control is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. READ COUNTRY BOOKS has republished it in an affordable, high quality, modern edition using the original text and artwork. The author was an expert and dedicated destroyer of rats who also invented the "Terrier" Death Run Rat Trap and the Blocking Trap. He was persuaded to write this fascinating book after fighting a memorable battle in ridding a friend's house and farm of a long established and numerous rat colony. Utilising his vast knowledge of the Brown and the Black Rat, and his many years of practical experience in their destruction, he penned this, the most comprehensive of all books ever published on this particular subject. Over five hundred pages contain forty eight detailed chapters including : - Habits and Natural History of the Rat. - Traps, Type and Use - Signals. - Trapping Methods. - Snaring. - Ferrets and Ferreting. - The Mongoose. - Dogs. - Trailing. - Poisoning. - Virus. - Blocking. - Flooding. - Fumigation. - Varnish and Rat Lime Trap. - The Rodier System. How to Deal with Rats in the House, Shop, Outbuildings, Yards, Stables, Cow -Houses, Fowl Pens, Pig Sties, Gardens, Greenhouses, Rivers and Ships. - Rats on Shooting Estates and Farms. - Sewers. - Notes on Plague. - Cancer in Rats. etc etc. There are also chapters on the control of mice, cockroaches and sparrows, with extra detailed chapters on traps and their design. Over fifty text illustrations are included, detailing trap design and usage etc. Also retained are several pages of vintage advertisements for rat traps, poisons, baits, books etc. This is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the countryside, rural conservation, pest control, game keeping etc, with much of the historical information remaining useful and practical today. Many of the earliest sporting books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. READ COUNTRY BOOKS are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Exploring the history of the gas mask in Germany from 1915 to the eve of the Second World War, Peter Thompson traces how chemical weapons and protective technologies like the gas mask produced new relationships to danger, risk, management and mastery in the modern age of mass destruction. Recounting the apocalyptic visions of chemical death that circulated in interwar Germany, he argues that while everyday encounters with the gas mask tended to exacerbate fears, the gas mask also came to symbolize debates about the development of military and chemical technologies in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. He underscores how the gas mask was tied into the creation of an exclusionary national community under the Nazis and the altered perception of environmental danger in the second half of the twentieth century. As this innovative new history shows, chemical warfare and protection technologies came to represent poignant visions of the German future.