THE MOLE QUESTION 115 



and it would then probably be in a sufficiently 

 level state at the next grass-cutting for the scythe, 

 but by the following season it would again be in a 

 hummocky condition, and repeated rollings would 

 be a serious item in his expenses. He considers 

 that if the damage thus inflicted on him in these 

 small meadows where the scythe is used is 

 sufficient to be seriously felt, the loss must indeed 

 be great on large farms where the machine is used 

 for mowing, and the ground must be kept in a 

 smooth condition at considerable expense. 



Pondering over these things, and fighting the 

 moles, which, not content with making a sort of 

 physical geography raised map of his little grass 

 meadows, nightly invade his garden to spoil his 

 work there, he has come to look upon it as a 

 tremendously important question. It is his con- 

 viction that he who invents a means of suppressing 

 the mole will be a great benefactor to the country, 

 and he has set himself to find out the means, and 

 he has even strong hopes of success. So long (he 

 argues) as we continued to fight the moles with 

 the traps now in use, made to take one mole at a 

 time, the very utmost we can do is to keep their 

 numbers down with a great deal of trouble and 

 at a considerable expense. They increase rapidly, 

 and no sooner are our efforts relaxed than they 

 again become abundant. We want a trap that 

 will not take a single mole but as many moles as 

 are accustomed to use the run in which it is placed. 

 That a large number do constantly use the same 



