VOLES. 205 



suddenly come upon the earth by magic. It is possible that 

 they sometimes migrate suddenly from place to place. But 

 their rapid multiplication is generally foreshadowed for weeks 

 beforehand by the increase of the Buzzards.' 



" During the twenties, the Lower Rhine was repeatedly visited 

 by such a plague. The fields were so undermined in places 

 that you could scarcely set foot on the ground without touching 

 a Vole-hole, and innumerable paths were deeply trodden 

 between these openings. On fine days it swarmed with Voles, 

 which ran about openly and fearlessly. If they were approached, 

 from six to ten rushed to the same hole to creep in, and un- 

 willingly impeded each other's progress by crowding together. 

 It was not difficult in the crush to kill half-a-dozen with one 

 blow from a stick. All seemed to be strong and healthy, but 

 mostly rather small, and for the greater part were probably young 

 ones. Three weeks after I revisited the place. The number 

 of Voles had actually increased, but the animals were apparently 

 in a sickly state. Many had mangy places or sores over the 

 whole body, and even in those which appeared sound, the skin 

 was so loose and delicate that it could not be roughly 

 handled without destroying it. When I visited the place for 

 the third time, four weeks later, every trace of them had 

 disappeared ; but the empty burrows and passages awakened 

 a much more dismal feeling than when they swarmed with life. 

 People said that the whole race had suddenly disappeared from 

 the earth as if by magic. Many may have perished from a 

 devastating pestilence, and many have been devoured by their 

 fellows, as happens in captivity ; but people also spoke of the 

 innumerable hosts that had swum across the Rhine at several 

 places in the open day. No extraordinary increase was noticed 

 anywhere over a wide area ; but they seem to have disappeared 

 everywhere at the same time, without reappearing elsewhere. 

 Nature must have put a stop to their inordinate multiplication 



