OBSEKVATIONS ON THE MOLE. 227 
But the most usually successful method by far, of destroy- 
ing the mole, is by means of traps, and of these there are 
Various constructions. That used by Mr Fletcher (and 
he makes these traps himself) is very simple, and so perfect 
in its kind as scarcely to admit of improvernent. The prime 
*:ost, tooj he tells me, of each of his traps is only threepence. 
It consists of a piece of wood four inches and five-eighths 
long^ twb and a quarter broad, and about a quarter of an 
inch thick^ with a hole a quarter of an inch diameter in 
the iniddle of it, and a slit or mortice cut transversely an 
inch loiig^ and one-eighth wide, within half an inch of each 
end of it, leaving at each eiid of this transverse slit or mor- 
tice abbtit half an inch ; into which space, at each end of the 
slit, are fixed the extremities of a strong double iron-wire, 
so as to form d circular arch, or almost a ring of two inches 
diameter, A plug of wood, an incli and a half long, is 
made to fit the hole in the middle of the board, and is em- 
ployed to act as a trigger ; for it is put in when the trap is 
set, only so gently as to be removeable on the slightest touch. 
Two pieces of good brass- wire, deprived of the temper, 
and then formed into two rings of three inches diameter, 
are each fixed to one end of a piece of strong well-made 
fishing-line^ or gardeners hne, of eighteen inches long. 
The line thus armed, is doubled in the middle^ and a knot 
cast on the double line two inches from the rings. These 
wire-rings, in this way, when laid together, exactly corre- 
spond with one another. A small pece of line, about an 
inch long, is fixed to the other,- at the knot, I may 
mention, that the trigger is also fixed to the board by a 
(piece of line tied round it, to prevent it from being lost. 
Things being thus prepared, the brass -wire rings at- 
tached to the ends of the line, are put each of them throngh 
one of the slits in the board, and fitted in betwixt the sides 
of the dourble iron-wire rings, so as to correspond with them. 
