The Plague of Field Mice, by Sir Walter Elliot. 459 



beut, and among the grass, in the boggy hollows, it tends bene- 

 ficially to give a top-dressing, for as the Ettrick Shepherd, long 

 ago, admirably explained, the sheep and lambs never fail to 

 spread the mole-casts, and in the act of so doing, grind off the 

 superfluous growth of their own hoofs. I never heard of a 

 Northumberland farmer killing moles upon the moors, nor of a 

 landlord fool enough to do it for him."* 



That the excessive propagation of the voles was due to the 

 mild character of the four or five winters, preceding 1876, is 

 proved by the subjoined return of the temperature and general 

 features of the winters from December, 1870, to May, 1876, ob- 

 tained from the Scottish Meteorological Society,! for which, my 



* The Swiss naturalist, Fatio, already referred to as having studied the 

 habits of the vole with so much care, includes the hedgehog among the 

 number of its enemies. Like the mole it is carnivorous, and doubtless preys 

 on mice, while it does good service by destroying slugs, worms, &c, yet no 

 animal is more ruthlessly persecuted by the keeper, who never fails to drive 

 his heel into every one he sees. Fortunately for itself, however, it rarely 

 comes out during the day, and so is by no means scarce. Being overrun 

 with rabbits, I employed two warreners to kill them, into whose unbaited 

 traps 76 hedgehogs fell in 1877. They also, in like manner, unwillingly 

 caught 363 rats, which threaten to become a worse enemy than either rabbits 

 or voles. 



The indictment against the hedgehog and the weasel of sucking eggs, is 

 true to some extent ; but is amply condoned by the service they render in 

 destroying noxious creatures The cock pheasant, as I myself have seen, 

 does not scruple to peck the eggs of his mate, for which others, no doubt, 

 bear the blame ! 



+ Winters in the South and East of Scotland during 1870-76 :— 

 1870-1. 



December, 1870. Temp. 3°. 9 beloio the average ; frost nearly every night 

 from the 17th ; the temperature falling to 5°, 12°, and again to 12 Q and 17°, 

 which were the four coldest nights. Eain fell on the 14th and 15th to the 

 amount of 1.84 inch. Snow fell in some places on 9 days after the 15th, and 

 on the 30th 9 inches lay on the ground. 



January, 1871. Temp. 2°. 6 below the average, much frost during the 

 month ; 14° twice and 16° and 19° twice being recorded. 



February. Temp. 4°. 4 above the average, very little frost during the 

 month. Sain from 3rd to 8th 2.17 inches ; in some places more. 

 1871-2. 



December, 1871. Temp. 0°. 7 above the average ; frost little. Snow a little 

 on the first four days, and from 20th to 23rd. 



January, 1872. Temp. 3°. 2 above the average; little frost. Eain fell 

 rather heavy. Snow on the 1st, 2nd, and 19th, to 26th ; lying 3 inches deep 

 in some places. 



