The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-06-05
M:5ht Farm.
THE SILvERY MOLE.
BY DIR. ELLIOTT coUEs, o. 8. A.
From the Rod and Gun.

best friends, results from ignorance of
their habits, and from confounding them
with some other small underground
animals which are really hurtful to the
agriculturist. / indulge the hope that
the columns of THE ROD AND Gun may
be in some measure instrumental in re-
moving the ill-will against these benef-
cial creatures.
As just limited, there are indeed
number of small animals undeniably in
furious to the farmer and fruiterer.
Some of them, in fact, rank next after
the grasshoppers and certain other in
sects in the scale of noxious creatures,
whose attacks upon crops and fruit
trees immensely overbalance any good
they are known to do But all of these,
without exception, are vegetable eaters,
belonging to the great order of the
"gnawers," or RoDENTIA. Some, like
the rabbits, destroy fruit trees and
shrubbery by girdling, to eat the bark,
or feed upon the tender shoots of grain.
A far greater number, among them the
many kinds of field mice, devour the
grain itself, both in seed and in har
vest; others, again, such as the goph-
ers, commit havoc with tuberous crops
like potatoes, and various tap-rooted
plants. The field mice and gophers,
next after some kinds of insects, are the
greatest enemies of the husbandman.
Like moles, they are great burrowers
and this fact, perhaps, has tended to
bring the harmless moles under the
ban. The farmer finds his crops in
jured by various animals that burrow in
his fields; ERGO, moles injure his crops.
There is good deal of such leaky
logic. But the simple fact is, that the
moles suffer for the company they keep.
They are altogether different creatures,
They occupy, in their own sphere, the
place filled by the insectivorous birds in
theirs. They are insectivorous, and
devour untold numbers of noxious in
sects. They never touch vegetable
food. What little harm they do when
they are extremely numerous bears no
proportion to the benefits they confer,
and is Of no more account than the
cherry that robin steals.
1t might seem unnecessary to de-
scribe mole, and point out how it
differs from some other small under
ground animals but the fact that it is
not seldom COMPOUNDED with such dis
family related creatures as field mice,
shows that a little more information
will not be out of place. Moles con-
stitute family, TALPIDG of the order
INsEcTIvoRA. There are several gen.
era, inhabiting different portions of the
globe, except the tropics. TALPA is
European and Asiatic. A beautiful
genus, CHRYsocHLoRIs, is found in parts
of Africa North America is the rich
est in genera, having three very dis
tinct ones. URoTRIcHUs occurs in the
Northwest, and also in Japan; it is a
peculiar and not very well known form.
CoNDYLURA is remarkable genus,
common in the United States, distin-
guished by fringe of radiating tenta-
cles around the snout. ScALoPs is the
commonest and best known genus, con-
tanning several species, one or more of
which is found in nearly all parts of
the United States. Any one of the
species is Immediately distinguished,
independently of other characters, by
the absence of the two pair of large
front teeth which mark the rodents.
The teeth are all small, and very numer-
Gus; our species of ScALops have from
So to A in all-quite mouthful. The
snout is very slender and sharp pointed,
sort of proboscis in miniature, stick
ing out beyond the mouth. The next
most remarkable feature is the enor-
nous fore feet, set close to the body
upon very short stout arms, so twisted
that the palm of the hand presents ver-
tically outward, held on edge, thumb
side downward These curious spade
like hands, armed with stout claws, are
the efficient instruments by which the
animals pillow their way through the
stiffest soils, with the same ease with
which an ordinary animal walks on the
surface In fact such is their peculiar
conformation, that they make better
progress under ground than on it. The
ears are extremely minute, not likely to
be seen at all unless carefully looked
for. The eyes are smaller still. in fact
only rudlmentary, sometimes actually
covered over with skin; so that the
saying as blind as mole" is founded
on fact. The body is stout and clum-
sy; there is no neck the limbs and
tail are short. One of the most beau
tiful things about mole is its remark
able coat of fur, as dense and soft as
velvet-altogether much finer article
than the fabric known as moleskln."
Our several species of ScALops re-
semble each other closely, and are usu-
ally classed as one species under the
name of ground moles" They differ,
however, in excellent technical charac-
tiers but their general habits are much
the same. The silvery or prairie mole,
S. ARGENTATUs, differs chiefly from the
usual eastern species in its color, which
is silvery gray or slate gray, reflect
ing various rich Dronzy or purplish
tints in different lights 1t is an abund-
ant species in various Western States,
where it replaces the Eastern S. AQUA
T1cUs; in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois, south to Louisiana, and west
to Nebraska. 1t is some six or seven
inches long, the tail an inch or more.
The two most marked traits of this
mole, which it shares with its allies, are
its immense strength, and inordinate
voracity The whole conformation in
dictates great muscular power, required
to force its way without exhaustion
through the earth. One can hardly
hold down mole with all the strength
that can be exerted with one hand, the
animal will succeed in slipping from the
grasp. In travelling under ground, the
snout, moved in various directions, is
supposed to facilitate loosening of par
ticles of earth; but the progress is
mainly effected by the powerful fore feet.
These are brought round in 'front.' palms
outward, and the earth pushed back
with motion like that of the arms of
q nerSon in cwimminr tho b;ndo, -,