Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-08-16
ODD OCCUPATION.
Kidding PARKS AND CI1NytsrEI,.
IFS OF PESTS.
An Expert Who Destroys Small AMI
mails by Thousanus-His Methods
and the Results of His Work
"A UniIuc Employment.

a particular occupation, yet Frederick
Wegner is such person. His business
is the trapping of moles and other ont of
door enemies to beautiful lawns and gar
dens. He was until two years ago en-
ployed in Greenwood Cemetery at his
| specially, but having rid the place of
pests now does work for any one vino is
willing TO pay for his services. He has
within the last two years been employed
to clear Woodlcwn Cemetery, part OF
Central Park, the estate Of William Rock
Teller, near Tarrytown, and those of A.
II. King and IL. l.. Hoyt, Of the Victoria
Hotel, at Great Neck. l.. l., and GENE
terry near Troy,of molcs and other obnox-
ious burrowcrs, and in every case he has
been completely successful.
In Central Park he was hired to wor,,
from Fifty-i:nth to Eighty second streets,
and while not Ia mole can be found below
the latter street, above it they are numcr-
ous. ~ Ir'dUae reporter called on this
nineteenth century Pied Piper of Hame-
lin recently at his home, and learned
something about his history and methods
of work. He is Il German by birth, rather
small i'll stature, somewhat bent from ane
and much STOPPING ut his work, and his
face is deeply bronzcd from the out-of-
door life that he has led. Apparently ne
is not over forty-!ivc years old although
he is really nearer sixty than forty-ive.
When asked when he first went into
the business OF trapping, lie said: "Why,
began when boy. When l was about
ten years old the country around Rocd-
land, Bavaria, where L lived, was so
overrun with field mice that it was al
most impossible to raise any crops. Every
remedy was tried, but the little pests
seemed to increase until the farmers were
at their wits ends Finally the board of
aldermen, us you would call it here, of
Rocdland, and several surrounding vii
lagos, passed laws compelling every farmer
to bring the bodies OF forty dead mice
to the council chamber every day, under
penalty OF guidcn, or forty cents, Tor
each failure to do so. The number was
aftcrward increased to 100 and the fine
to dollar. Many did not know how to
catch them, and to escape paying the
penalties were glad to buy the mice. l
got Il number of old-faslioncd traps and
set TO work, catching forty or fifty of the
creatures ut first aud gradually increasing
the number to nearly 1000 day. /
made good deal of money for little
fellow like myself, and pretty soon the
ncighboriood was cleared of the pests.
Wcener came TO this country some
thirty-nnc years ago, but did not en-
gage in trapping. In 1876 he was made
II Waterman in Greenwood Cemetery.
The place WAS then simply overrum with
fhilunppL-s u,nins E,l,I
musknts and skunl;s. The ground was
furrowcd in every direction by the in
dustnous creatures, and the roots OF the
plants were eaten, SO that it was difficult
to keep any flowers or shrubs growing
about the graves. Efforts were made to
trap the beasts, but so few were caurht
that there was 10 abatement in the NUS
ancc.
Recalling his youthful rca!s rs trap
per, Wcgner set to work to exterminale
the harmful breeds. 1t took two wears
OF hard work, but at the end of that
time few moles or field mice troubled the
award of Greenwood. In this time
2sS2 moles fell victims to his trap, and
nearly 1000 garden snakes were cut into
by his spade. Not until rs, 900 Chin
hunks had been killed was the place
clear OF these pests, and in the first sum
mer, Wcgner trapped $3.50 field mice.
For each kind of prey different kind
OF trap is used. The mole trap is the in
vcntion of the trappcr himself 1t is 81
hollow block of wood with two wire
loops attached to spring on the inside.
In the centre of the block is plug, which
is tied to the spring in such Il way that
when the plug is disturbed the spring.
flies up, and the animal is caught in
the wire moose. The trap is buried cx
actly i'll the course left by the mole,
which invariably travels through its old
hole again and is lassoed Field mice.
the trapper said, require a quicker trap
than moles. They breed so RAPIDLY,
, however, that it seems impossible to ex-
terminate them with traps, so Werner
experimental with various poisons until
he learned one that WAS largely eaten b.
field mice and snakes, but let alone by
all other animals. This poison he strewcd
with liberal hand, and in few months
every mou@e was gone.
Chipmunks were even more numerous
than field mice and equally destructive
to the work of the landscape gardeners.
These little striped creatures not only
destroy the roots of plants, but honey
comb the soil with their holes. Unlike
the moles, which burrow just beneath
the surface, chipmunks dig straight
down for distance of five or six feet
and have number of their holes CON
nectcd. In one year Wcgncr trapped
1000 of these rodents, but they con
tinue to multiply, so he tried various
kinds OF poison until he discovered one
which they relisle.l, and in not many
months few OF them were left to disport
themselves. The banks of the lakes OF
Greenwood also contain the subterrancan
castles of few muskrats, twenty-four of
which were captured in the steel claws
of Wegner's trips; seven skunl:s met n
similar fate. The snakes were dispatched
either by poison Or spade with n blade
as sharp as knife. Wcgner has killed
any number Of snakes in this way, in
Guiding some dangerous big black snakes.