Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1870-07-28
From the Rural New Yorker.
The Common Mole.


to "spare the birds" / deem
just as important to say-"spar
the ground moles." "Patent mol
traps and modes of destroying
them, belong to the dark ages
The mole is emplatically a glut
tonous feeder on flesh, and will die
when deprived Of it, in twenty. fou
shours, surrounded with vegetable,
Nof every variety, or roots. His
food consists Of grubs, cock chat.
ers, molc-crickets, earth worms al-
so rats and mice, il it comes across
them in its path
F.. Geofroy Saint Hilaire, a rel
ebrated savan, charges this under
ground animal with 'tbe crime OF
catching bBds in order to deyom
them. TlR crafty creature exposes
the end Of his pointed muzzle
slightly above the ground, and
moving it in imittion of wrig-
Cling worm; the b is tempted to
seize it, bkt fndsbnly the hungry
gullet' Of this excavTing animal
This would hardlYIqecur if grubs
we're plenty, 1t is true the mole is
regular "borcr," antlScpts out a
lengthy tunnel like a liBg augur,
formed as it is by th%lmovable
snout to pierce the. soil, land the
close proximity Of its two Bawerful
paws to clear away theyI6aseAed
soil, which may not always ~ de
sirable in the garden or a the
farm; vet lei ~ remember that he
is. a regular eating machine. The
forty four teeth, studded with
points, never cease working from
morning to night. 1t is found to
require a prodigious amount Of
nourisSncnt, and that if deprived
Of its food for day will perish.
NJ Weber, a Swiss naturalist,
who experimental upon two moles,
says, such was their voracity, that
in nine days they had eaten three
hundred and forty one white
worms, one hundred and ninety
three earth worms, twenty-five cat
and mouse, both the
homes and skin of which they swal-
lowed. When lie restricted them
to a vegetable dict they died of
hunger.
Messrs. Duges and FIourens have
proved that they perish if kept for
a day without food.
They are after the 'grubs' with
a "sharp nose;' so let them root"
a bit; they truly loosen up the soil
some, but | question whether they
are not vastly more beneficial than
even to the soil itself; and
the insects upon which they feed.
would do ten times the damage.
Iti is surprising that an animal so
completelyimmersedin in moist earth
is so remarkably clean when we
withdraw it; its glossy coat is beau
tifnlly fresh and clean, and not
'soiled" by the soil from whence i'll
was taken. The mole skin is so
'oft and pretty that it is often used !
or a pad to hang a watch upon 4
indeed, some ladies of the court of
Iouis XIV. were whimsical enough I
o have eyebrows made of it, to
match the paint and ether shams
N their faces, while the courtiers I
# this Prince collected masses of
nole-skin to have their dresses
made of them. These costly dress
s had very disagreeable smell,
nd the fashion soon died out.
The idea that moles were blind.
ONES from Aristotle. Their eyes
re very small, and hidden by the
air, so that its vision may not be
cry great.
The adaptation Of the animal to
Is habits, is worthy of examine
ION. The compact, short pile that
omposes its smooth and polished
oat, rejects the adhesion of the
arth, protects it from cold and
ret, and prevents the impediment
nat would be caused by the mold
ticking to its body. It's cylindric-
figure, the sharp. slender, tendi- ,
Gus, strong nose, and shovel like
ands, adapt it to its habits. The
'llar- bone, too, is of extraordinary
myth and thickness, giving it a SUI
orior strength for mining its way ,
rough the ground. 1t is a re-
arkable fact that when a female .,
ole is taken in a trap, it is com
on to find the male lying dead
ose beside her. The attachment s
,twcen these animals is so great |
at the affection overcomes the !
lis of hunger, and the poor, !
'ating spouse dies of starvation. I
hat think you of this,--in- t
met?
But my object is to show that the t
ole is beneficial to farmers. First, f
cause of the great number of O
uhs and worms it destroys by its v
eedy appetite 1t is also said |,
at where old mole hills are most G
undant in sheep pastures, the f
ter animal is generally in a &
althy state, as it feeds on the wild A
yme and other salubrious herbs
lich flourish on these heaps Of
rth. When the Earl of Essex d
the mole hills in a park, o
: deer in it never throve after S
1T. The Rev. C. A. Bury has y