Receipt for Killing Rats

[ Receipt for Killing Rats ] Dr. William James Almon

Contributors
Contributor Role
Compiler
Contributor Name
Dr. William James Almon

Date: 1783

Publication Format
Manuscript

Type
Miscellaneous

Ingredients
oatmeal
oil of rhodium
grain of mush
nux vomica

Places
Halifax
Nova Scotia
Dublin
Ireland

Source: Manuscript Notebook of Dr. William James Almon
Institution: Nova Scotia Archives | Source Origin: Almon Family Fonds | Reference: MG 1 / Microfilm Reel 10,045

Description

A recipe promising to kill even numerous rats that was purchased by the Dublin Society in 1783, p. 130. The recipe also appears in The Bee, or Literary Intelligencer, Volume 3, 1791, p.178.


Images
Transcription

  1In 1783 a premi-um of five Guineas was given by the Dublin Society for this Receipt.Receipt for killing Rats

Take 1 quart of Oatmeal, 4 drops of oil of Rhodium, 1 Grain of Mush
2 Nuts of Nux Vomica powdered, Mix the whole together, and place
it where the Rats frequent: continue to do so while they eat it, and
it will soon destroy them, be they ever so numerous

Annotations
a chemical element
According to the OED, nux vomica is a kind of tree, "Strychnos nux-vomica (family Loganiaceae), native to southern Asia and cultivated for its seeds."