AUGUST 169 



daddy-longlegs. The parent flies lay their eggs in long 

 herbage, whence the larvse descend into the earth, 

 remaining there two or three years, feeding on the 

 roots of grass, turnips, beans, clover, etc., and are 

 especially destructive to ' lea ' oats, that is, oats follow- 

 ing upon pasture in rotation. The contrast between 

 the grub and the perfect fly is truly remarkable, the 

 grub being stout and legless, and moving through the 

 ground by means of bristles set in its exceedingly 

 tough, wrinkled skin, whereas the fly might serve as a 

 type of fragility, very slender, with inconveniently long 

 legs, which break off at a slight touch. The purpose of 

 such inordinate legs it is difficult to conceive, for if 

 some, or even all, are removed, the creature gets on 

 perfectly well without them indeed, seems rather 

 grateful for being relieved of a useless incumbrance. 

 There is only one remedy known against the presence 

 of leather-grubs, and it may seem strange that farmers 

 are almost unanimous in preventing that remedy taking 

 effect. 1 The mole-catcher is a recognised institution in 

 every agricultural community, yet the mole is the only 

 creature that can follow leather-grubs into their haunts. 

 Birds eat them readily enough; rooks, seagulls, and 

 starlings follow the plough closely and pick them up 

 among whatever other edible morsels are turned out by 

 the share; but the mole ploughs for himself, passing 

 through the mould as a fish does through water, and 

 waging relentless war upon leather-grubs and wire- 

 worms. Truly a beneficent mammal, whose merits 



1 I have lately met two Scottish farmers of arable land who were 

 all in favour of preserving moles. 



