eat, making our houses rat-proof, stopping up their holes with cement and broken glass, leaving no dark places for them to hide in and trapping them or poisoning them. But I don't advise poison. It's too dangerous and Rover or Pussy might get at it.” "I never knew before how much harm rats and mice do," said Ruth thoughtfully. "Hullo!" cried Paul, who had come up and been listening. "I know a conundrum that Uncle George made up about rats, 'When is a rat troublesome?' Do you give up? 'When he's a-gnawing!' And from what you say, Daddy, I guess he is pretty annoying,' isn't he?" THINGS TO DO If rats and mice are in your neighborhood organize an Anti Mouse and Rat Club. Promise to leave no food of any kind exposed; to keep a lookout for rats and mice, and to learn how they can be controlled. Decide what measures you can take. Keep a record for six months of what you do. If successful let your secretary write an account of work to your newspaper and have it published. Look in some bird book and find as many kinds of hawks and owls as you can. Learn the food of each. Which are man's aids against mice? THINGS TO REMEMBER Rats and mice are among our dangerous enemies. They carry germs of disease. They destroy young chickens and song birds. They destroy food in immense amounts. They injure property. They cause fires by gnawing matches. One rat or mouse may do little damage. But a rat has babies about six times a year and as many as ten at a time. It is because there are so many of them that they do so much harm. There are four ways to get rid of them. 1. Have no food about for them. All food in our homes should be in ice box, screened closet or in metal, glass or china covered dishes. Food in stores, barns or other places should be protected, too, by some kind of ratproof receptacle. 2. Keep rats and mice out of all protected places where they could raise families. Screen with heavy iron wire screens basement windows and doors. Have solid foundations of tight concrete or stone. Have concrete or cinder walks, never board walks. Have spaces under porches or steps open to let cats or terriers get at any mice or rats that may gather there. Fill up their holes with cement and broken glass. 3. Traps will help out these ways of preventing mice. It is a bad plan to use poison for rats, because the poisons are dangerous to children and pet animals. We do not want the rats to die within the house walls. 4. By encouraging the enemies of rats and mice we can keep down their numbers. These enemies are cats, terriers, owls and hawks. It is better to lose a chicken to a hawk or an owl now and then than to kill the bird that eats hundreds of mice in its lifetime. TO THINK ABOUT Why does the U. S. Government publish books and papers to tell people how to get rid of rats and mice? How can we keep rats and mice from getting food in our houses? How can we keep rats and mice from finding homes in our houses? What enemies have rats and mice? How can we protect these enemies of rats and mice? How many of these can you recognize? What can you do to keep mice out of your home? CHAPTER XVI CLEANING DAY "MOTHER," said Ruth, looking up from her saucer of oatmeal one Saturday morning, "when are Aunt Louise and the baby coming home?" "Uncle George said last night that he was going up to Skytop to-day to bring them back with him," replied Mother. "I am so anxious to see Baby-he will have grown so much in these two months. It doesn't seem possible that September is here already." "School begins Monday," chimed in Paul. "I never saw such a short vacation.” "Being so busy with the play-house made it seem short," said Ruth. "Oh, Mother, just think! Aunt Louise hasn't seen the play-house at all. Do let's have a 'housewarming,' as Mrs. Vincent had when she built her new house and invite Aunt Louise to it." "I think that would be lovely," agreed Mother. "We can make the house quite spick and span and do our marketing to-day and celebrate the housewarming on Sunday afternoon." "Great!" cried Paul. "I'll tell you what, Daddy, let's you and I plan the eats while Ruth does the sweeping and cleaning." "If that isn't just like a boy!" exclaimed Ruth. "They always want to do the eating while the girls do all the disagreeable things." "Come, come," interrupted Mother. "Let's not forget that the cornerstone of our play-house is peace and coöperation. We'll all help plan what Paul calls the 'eats' and we'll all help with the cleaning. But I'm sorry, Ruth, that you class cleaning among 'disagreeable' things." "Well," admitted Ruth, "I don't really suppose I've ever done enough cleaning to know very much about it, and I'm always away at school when you are doing the cleaning, but I remember at the farm last summer Hannah used to hate Fridays when she swept. The house was all upset and Hannah was so tired and cross." "It is hard work to clean a house that is full of carpets, heavy curtains and upholstered furniture, like Uncle Silas's farmhouse," said Mother. "But our floors are bare, with only small, light rugs. We have nothing but thin, washable curtains, and our chairs have cushions that can be taken outdoors and beaten. Come along, folks, and let's see how quickly and well we can put things into apple-pie order." As Father had some drawing to do, he was excused, but Ruth and Paul followed Mother's lead back to the play-house. "Now," said Mother, "if the play-house were not brand new, we should have to give it a regular, thorough cleaning, but as it is, I don't really think we shall find much dirt. Suppose, Paul, you clean the bathroom, while Ruth and I start on her room." Paul, who was a little offended still at Ruth's taunting him for being interested only in eating, |