80 
0)1 the Short^tailed Field Mouse. 
length, “Lord Gleiibervie became so alarme<l about tlie final success 
of raising a forest, that we were instructed to pursue every means w(? 
could think of, by cats, dogs, owls, poison, traps, &:c. Wo w(‘re, ratlier 
than not accomplish our object, to cut up all the grass by the roots; 
no expense was to be an obstacle, even if the cost should be more 
than the enclosing, paling, and planting—so anxious was his Lf)rdship 
for the success of the undertaking!”—“Operations were immediately 
commenced, with traps and baits, of various kinds; with poison, v ith 
dogs and cats, but all to no purpose. At length, a person hit upon a 
simple, and eventually, a very efficacious mode. Ha^ing, in digging 
a hole in the gi’ound some time previous, observed, that some mice, 
which happened to fall in, could not get out again, the idea of forming 
similar holes was suggested—he tried it accordingly, and found it to 
answer.” 
In short, holes about two feet long and ten inches broad at the toji, 
and somewhat larger every way at the bottom, were made at twenty 
yards apart, over about 3200 acres of plantation; persons w(?nt round 
early in the morning, to destroy such mice as might be found in the 
holes. In this way, besides what the owls, hawks, magpies, and 
weasels, took out of the holes—and several of these depredators lost 
their lives in attempting to seize their prey,—30,000 mice were paid 
for by government; nor were they extirpated until they had destroyed, 
in four enclosures, amounting only to 1700 acres, the astonishing 
number of 200,000 five year old oaks, together with an immense num¬ 
ber of acorns, and young seedlings.” 
“It is said by Naturalists,” observes Mr. B. “that the beaver will 
fell trees with his teeth, but I have never seen an account of mice 
felling oak trees, yet I have seen many trees 
seven or eight feet high, and an inch and a half in 
diameter, cut down by them. When examining 
for the thick part of the root, below where it vns 
bitten off, I could never find any part of it left, so 
that it is very probable it Avas eaten by them. ] 
have by me, several trees, so cut down, for the in¬ 
spection of any person, aa^o may be desirous of 
Avitnessing with his OAvn eyes, the AA'onderful poAv- 
ers of so diminutive a creature as the mouse, in 
felling trees.” 
1 had before heard that mice occasionally 
gnaAved young ash4;rees, but I supposed that 
they did so merely in play perhaps—but the 
above account appeared so extra¬ 
ordinary, that I wrote to Mr. Bil- 
lington on the subject, and he A'. as 
kind enough to forward some sj)e- 
cimens of oak Avhich had been cut 
doAA’n; one, that from Avhich the 
accompanying sketch (12) Avas ta¬ 
ken, measures inches in circumference at the collar, the place Avher<* 
the mice commenced their attack on it. e. m. 
