The Plague of Field Mice, by Sir Walter Elliot. 455 



The district most seriously affected consists of a cluster of 

 farms at the head of Borthwick water, which falls into the 

 Teviot, three miles above Hawick. The centre of the group is 

 Howpasley, which, with Oraikhope, Wolfcleugh head, and part 

 of Craik, all in the parish of Roberton, belong to the Duke of 

 Buccleugh ; adjoining them are Eamsay-cleughhead and Hislop, 

 in the parish of Teviothead, and the estate of Tushielaw. Be- 

 yond them is Langshawburn, which was too close to escape such 

 dangerous neighbours ; as were other farms in Eskdalemuir 

 parish ; while several in Ettrick-head and Tema water were 

 attacked in a greater or less degree, but not to be compared 

 with the first mentioned six farms. In Nithsdale and Western 

 Dumfries, the parishes of Tynron, Penpont, and Durisdeer were 

 among those that suffered most. 



For two or three years previous to 1876, the voles had been 

 observed to be on the increase. In the spring of 1875, the 

 ground which had been covered with snow since December, was 

 found to be riddled with holes under the wreath-drifts, and de- 

 nuded of herbage, by the voles that had found shelter there. 

 Great numbers were seen throughout the summer, when cutting 

 the bog hay. The shepherd at Craikhope described the children 

 as "amusing themselves by hunting them from morning to 

 night, as long as they could find nothing better to do, so that 

 each day," he believes, "they destroyed hundreds, and the dogs 

 devoured them, till they made themselves sick !" In the autumn 

 of the same year they continued plentiful. The farmer of How- 

 pasley, " when cutting a four-acre field of corn, observed num- 

 bers to be driven inwards by the reaping machine, so when only 

 a spot in the centre of about 20 feet by 5 remained, he made 

 one of the men take a scythe, and cut it slowly, a woman lifting 

 behind. The others surrounded them and killed the mice as 

 they came out; and somewhere between 80 and 100 were thus 

 destroyed, most of which were eaten by six dogs present." "I 

 used to kill scores of them," he adds, " with a stick while walk- 

 ing over the hills." 



The same thing was observed in a greater or less degree, 

 wherever the conditions of the ground were favourable to them. 

 A correspondent to a county paper* relates that when "removing 

 a two-year's crop of hay in the autumn of 1875, from a meadow 



* Kelso Chronicle, 1877. 



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