Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-05-05
THE MICE PLAGUE.


lfrga he Soofsnan.l
The mice plague on the border coun-
ties IN reaching a magnitude OF the
most serious character. Five years
ago the mice attack was limited 10 two
or three farms In the upper district OF
Selkifkshire; today they are IN posses.
siou Of nearly all the best hill pastures
Ia tho counties OF R0xberg, Selkisk and
Dumfrles. They are alco reported to
have doue serious dam ge In the
Upper Ward OF Lanarkshire, and II
viii be strange Indeed N they have not
already made good their footing In the
adjoining counties Of PEBBLES, Ayr and
kiTkcudbrighi. The fapidity with
which the mice arc distributing over
wider area OF country AMI In everin.
creasing numbers, Ia not surprising
after the way the plague has been nj.
lowed 10 run Its cOure, for the short.
tailed field mice or field voleA (ArvicO.
Ia agreste,) which are the culprits,
breed from three ~ six times year,
and produce from four 10 eight ut u
birth.
Their favorlto food IA tho young
shoots OF grass, the delicate white stems
rising Immediately out Of the earth,
but In hard weather or times ofscarcity
they eat the roots OF grasses and old
heritage NJ we'll. They use great eau.
ton when feeding, always doing 10
under cover Of the rough grass, and ~
they hurrow deep into the ground they
are almost iuvincibie 10 vicissitudes OF
weather, and have saie retreat Ia
which 10 bring up their young aud de.
post theiI stores OF winter food.
Thousands Of acres OF the best grass
lands have been laid waste by them,
aud arr ut present totally destroyed ior
sheep pasture. The true bog grass Is.
peciaiiy, ON which the sheep mainly
depend In April and May, hRs been
eaten down 10 the root; but come Of
the bents are almost M much Injured
as the logs, and even the young
heather has not escaped altogether.
II Ia well within the mark 10 say
that gl00, 900 would not cover the dam
age done 10y mice In the above men.
toned counties during the last twelve
months. Entire Hirsels OF sheep have
had 10 To taken OIL their usual ground
AMI sent away to wintering, or some
other substitute found. This, ofcoursp,
eau only be done Mt an extraordinary
expense, but where II has not been
done the sheep on the affected ground
are In deplorable condition, which
will be more clearly seen later In the
year. Some Idea OF the losses incurred
generally may be gathered from the
following statement by Mr.. John Scott,
Newton HAwick, M 10 the amount Of
damage done by the mice Oh his own
farm.
lie says: "sincc we got the farm In
1857 we have never thought the lambs
up TO the quantity or quality they
should have been, and more back going
sheep than ! could account for other.
wise than by the mice hunting the
ground. For the year ls0O.0l the
SHORTAGES OF lambs, owing TO the mice
having the ground sore destroyed,
Lightness OF clip, ESl; 40 sheep
wintered away, Gas los; grass taken
10 lamb 600 owes on, e2l0; hay grown
on the farm, which the sheep are eat
Ing and would not require but for the
mice, El6O.
"But II Is impossible TO estimate the
damage; and unless the mice depart
soon and the grass come again In the
spring what was eaten In lSs0'0l has
not grown agaln) the most OF the sheep
win be to take away and keep away iii
the plague gets past" Here, then, 10
one farmer who puts the damage done
10 his farm by the mice last year ut
over $40. He IL only one Of hundreds
OF other sufferer, and not 10y any
means one Of the largest, while the
plague Ia growing In extent and mis-.
chief every year that II remains I'M
subdueu.