Mice
These animals are at times very troublesome in gardens, eating bulbs, roots, seeds, and the bark of trees; and occasionally they destroy numbers of threes by eating through or round the trunks, just below the surface of the ground. There are two kinds especially hurtful in gardens, viz., the Short-tailed Field Mouse, or Vole (Arvicola arvalis), and the Long-tailed Field Mouse (Mus sylvaticus). Both are very common, but the former prefers the drier, the latter the damper, places. They are readily distinguished by the tail, which, in the Vole, scarcely reaches one-fourth the length of the body, and is blunt at the tip; while the tail of the other is long, and tapers to the tip. The Vole has also a rounder head, with shorter ears, and its fur has a redder tinge than that of the Long-tailed Mouse. The Voles make runs among the grass of Lawns, &c., but they are not very easily caught. The most effective method of lessening their numbers has been found to be making pitfalls, 1ft. at least in depth, 4in. to 6in. wide at the mouth, and considerably wider at the bottom. Into these the Mice fall, and from them they cannot climb out. An inverted flower-pot sunk in the ground is sometimes used instead of the pit. Traps of various kinds may also be used, such as the Figure of 4 trap, or wire traps. The same means may be used to capture the other species, and poison may be employed with success where its use would not be dangerous to children or to domestic animals. One of the best poisons for Mice is phosphorus, made up with lard and flour. This may be scattered on the seed beds, or beside bulbs or other things that are endangered by the Mice. Other poisons employed for killing Mice are nux vomica or strychnine, arsenic, and white hellebore; but these are all dangerous to use for this purpose. Among natural enemies to Mice out of doors, owls, hawks, weasels, and their allies, are very helpful to gardeners, and should be protected by them whenever possible, whatever gamekeepers' views may be in regard to damage done by them among game. It is said that Mice may be prevented from proving injurious in seed beds by covering the soil, seedlings, and plants, with an inch of fine coal ashes. The mice, it is supposed, will not dig through this substance, which, at the same time, shelters the plants.