There are lesser inhabitants of the brook which are injurious both to
the eggs and young of fish. Among them are several of the larger
water-beetles, some of which are so large and powerful that, when placed
in an aquarium with golden carp, they have made havoc among the fish,
always attacking them from below. Although they cannot kill and devour
the fish at once, they inflict such serious injuries that the creature
is sure to die shortly.
I do not mean to assert that the water-vole is never injurious to man.
Civilisation disturbs for a time the balance of Nature, and when man
ploughs or digs the ground which had previously been untouched by plough
or spade, and sows the seeds of herbs and cereals in land which has
previously produced nothing but wild plants, he must expect that the
animals to whom the soil had been hitherto left will fail to understand
that they can no more consider themselves as the owners, and will in
consequence do some damage to the crops.
Moreover, even putting their food aside, their habits often render them
obnoxious to civilised man. The mole, for example, useful as it really
is in a field, does very great harm in a garden or lawn, although it
eats none of the produce.
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