What is it?

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:10 am

This is a page from a botanical book by Giovanni Battista Ferrari, 1638. It was a Christmas gift. What is represented? Is the photo readable?

traianj · Post by **traianj** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:40 am

Man mastered wilderness .

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:21 am

"A ballista for mice in the wild?" I think it is a bow powered mouse trap. The bow acts in reverse of a normal one. The arrow is nocked on the bow and the string is secured to the tubular stock. The prey has its head crushed by the captive arrow when it peeks through the arch at the base of the stock. The string on the arrow is part of the triggering mechanism.

This explanation is offered without any guaranty of accuracy.

Great picture, Jack.

qilich · Post by **qilich** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:24 am

I used Google translate set to Latin and "in agrestes mures ballista" comes out as (with some paraphrasing by me) as "a missile for mice in the wild".

Looking at the way it's set up at the bottom and the parts it breaks down to at the top and given the translation I'd say it's a mouse trap - for very big mice.

Possibly it's placed in a burrow entrance and then a mouse climbs up into the tube and pulls this string which would have bait attached to it. This would trigger a release which drives the inner pointed stake into whatever was tugging on the string.

Anyway that's my wild out there guess.

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:12 pm

Totally logical, guys, Thanks so much.

Patrick Menzies · Post by **Patrick Menzies** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:31 pm

"Set" bows in crossbow style are pretty common in a few cultures at least.
I think the Eskimos made them and likely they were used in Southeast Asia as well.

Stephen Selby · Post by **Stephen Selby** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:43 pm

I think I get it. It's a mole trap. When tripped by the mole taking the bait under the ground, the nocked part of the string remains static but pulls the bow down on a spear that goes through a hollow tube. Ouch,