FALCO BUTEO. 131 



and Kirkcudbright. The rapidity with which the mice are distributing 

 themselves over a wider area of country, and in ever-increasing numbers, is 

 not surprising after the way the plague has been allowed to run its course ; 

 for the short-tailed field-mice (arvicola agrestis), which are the culprits, 

 breed from three to six times a year, and produce from four to eight at a 

 birth. Their favourite food is the young shoots of grass, the delicate white 

 stems rising immediately out of the earth (they eat the roots of grasses and 

 old herbage as well). They use great caution when feeding, always under 

 cover of the rough grass, and, as they burrow deep, they are almost 

 invincible to the weather, and have a safe retreat to bring up their young 

 and deposit their winter stores. Thousands of acres of the best grass lands 

 are laid waste by them, and are at present totally destroyed for sheep 

 pasture. The bog grass, on which the sheep mainly depend in April and 

 May, has been eaten down to the roots ; some of the bents are as much 

 injured as the bogs, and even the young heather has not escaped. £100,000 

 will not cover the damage done by mice in the above-named Counties 

 during the last year. Entire hirsels of sheep have been taken off their 

 usual ground and sent away to winter — or some other substitute found at a 

 great expense. Where this has not been done the sheep are in a deplorable 

 condition, which will be more clearly seen later in the year. 



Some idea of the loss generally may be gathered from the following state- 

 ment by Mr John Scott, Newton, Hawick. He says — ' Since we got the farm 

 in 1887 the lambs have never been up to the quantity and quality they 

 should have been. For 1890-91 the shortness of lambs, owing to the mice 

 destroying the ground, would be £250. For the year 1891-92 — 



Lightness of clip, - ' - - - £31 



410 sheep wintered away, .... 143 10 



Grass taken to lamb 600 ewes on, - - - 210 



Hay which the sheep are eating, - - - 160 



But it is impossible to estimate the damage, and, unless the mice depart, the 

 most of the sheep will have to be taken away till the plague gets past.' 

 Here, then, is one farmer who puts the damage done to his farm by the 

 mice last year at over £540. He is only one of hundreds of sufferers, and 

 by no means one of the largest. The means tried to subdue the pest — such 

 as digging pits for the mice to fall into, and employing men and dogs to kill 

 them — have slaughtered thousands without even mitigating the plague, and 

 are a mere waste of time so far as exterminating the pest goes. Poison 

 seems the only effectual way of doing this. Of course with poisoned grain 

 there is danger that sheep and game, and even the natural enemies of the 

 mice, would suffer. The great object is to find some substance fatal to the 

 mice and inocuous to others. Nothing will be better than the phosphorus 

 and lard used by ratcatchers. This can be prepared at a small cost. Melt 

 hog's lard in a large bottle or tin-flagon ; plunge in water heated to about 

 150 degrees ; introduce half-^n-ounce of phosphorus for each pound of lard ; 

 then add a pint of proof whisky (thus even here is whisky useful) ; cork 

 firmly after being heated and taken out of the water ; shake until the phos- 

 phorus is diffused. This liquid when cooled will form a white compound* 

 which, being warmed gently, may be poured into a mixture of barley meal 

 and sugar, flavoured with oil of rhodium, &c, the dough being made into 

 pellets for the mice. The following, as a flavour, is useful : — 



Oil of rhodium, ------ 1 scruple. 



Oil of carraway, ------ 1 drachm. 



Oil of lavender, ------ 5 drops. 



Oil of aniseed, - - - - - - 10 drops. 



Tincture of musk, . .... 2 drops. 



'.A microbe capable of destroying the mice has been suggested ; but, three 

 years ago, M. Pasteur went sanguinely to the rescue of the Australian sheep- 

 farmers to effect a clearance of the rabbits by spreading a death-dealing 

 microbe amongst them. Chicken cholera-broth was to be sprinkled on the 



