Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1901-08-24
HOW MOLES OPERATE.
WHEN A WALL Is IN HIS WAY, HE
GOES OVER IT..

Eyes ana Ears Ills ' H'''u- S'"-'"
man Hand.-Gcts out of sight Quickly.
OF all the animals which assist in
making life miserable for the gardener
perhaps the mole is the most proNok-
ing. Just as a certain bed OF choice
seeds has been worked into perfect
condition, the mole. which may not
have been near the garden for Il month
comes back as though by special ap-
pointment. and plows that bed from
end to end Back and forth he works,
through the loose soil, close to the sur
face. heaying up little ridge OF earth
wherever he goes. He rapidly des-
troys the bed ,nough that is not at all
his object in coming. He is really ont
on a hunting expedition; he is hunting
for earth worms. slugs, grubs ana IN
sects which live in the ground and on
which he depends for rood. When he
has finished his meal he leaves the
bed and pushes through the turf OF
the lawn until he reaches the garden
wall perhaps. This proves little
too hard for him to plow through, so
he comes out into the open. runs at
quite fair speed across the walk. and
then burrows into the turf again on
the opposite side.
He probably does this at night. and
next day the seeds which he turned
up during his hunt through the bed
will die. If the sun is hot they Will
be baked in the losscncd earth, or. If
it rains. they will probably he washed
away. When the gardener discovers
the damage he will stride about the
lawn, stamping in the loose turf with
his heel, and we can hardly blame him,
if. under his breath, he says some very
unpleasant things about the mole.
Then he will probably set mole-trap
in the hope that his little enemy will
come that way again. And there he
may have another disappointment. for
the mole is quite as apt to stay away
until nice line of young peas or car
rots has begun to show above the
ground. Then. some night. after
shower of rain has softened the soil
he will suddenly return, uproot the
line from one end to the other, and
disappear as before.
But If. as sometimes happens, he re-
turns along one of his old tunnels, he
will probably meet his death. At one
point along the route he finds the roof
I of the hurrOw crushed down some
what and he has to give an extra
| heave to force his body through. That
heave presses on the platform of a
| mole trap and releases a number of
sharp-pointed iron prongs which,
driven by a powerful spring behind
them. pass through the body of the
mole.
When the gardener comes along and
lifts from the soil the limp body.
around which the ants have a lready
gathered, it will be seen what curl
GUS little creature the mole is From
the tip of his nose to the root of his
| tail he measures something less than
six inches, and his total length is in
creased by a rather short straight tail,
sparsely covered with short hairs. His
body is covered with beautiful, solft,
lustrous fur, which may look any one
of number of colors, according to the
light in which you see it. In one light
it will appear dark brown. and in
others black. dark silver gray, or pnr-
pie, possibly. and perhaps the most
astonishing thing about it is the fact
that an animal living in the soil
should be able to keep his coat SO
beautifully clean and bright. In front,
the body terminates in naked, cartil
aginous snout, on the upper surface of
which, close together, are two oblong
nostrils. The snout is very flexible
so much so. in fact, that the animal
sometimes twists it around and puts 1t
into his mouth. from which he after
wards wthdraws it with a pop" re-
sembIing the sound which might be
made in drawing a miniature cork |
don't why he does this, unless it be
to wipe the soil off his nose. When his
mouth is opened, it will be seen that it
is full of little teeth of several sizes
and shapes, and that it somewhat re-
sembles the mouth of diminutive
pig.
At the first glance one would say
that he had neither eyes nor ears, but
buried deep in the fur are two little
shining black dots. which are doubt
less big enough for anything he ever
requires to see, and about three quar-
ters of an inch behind them are two
very small round holes which lead to
the ears His forearms are hidden by
the skin; his curious. semhuman
hands alone being visible. The fingers
are united. forming broad, leathery
plans. which in life are flesh -colored.
They are armed with large. slightly
curved nails and are excellent tools for
digging with. The hind feet arc small
and slender. naked on the under sur
face, and clothed with fine, short hair
on the upper surface.
When the mole wishes to enter the
ground he brings the back of his fiat
hands together in front of his nose.
and. digging them into the earth,
makes a stroke just as man does
when he Is swimming. He repeats the
|
out of sight below the surface. AS he
goes through the earth. he twists his
head from one side to the other, and
up and down. searching for earth
worms and other dainties, of which he
eats great numbers in the course OF
twenty-four hours. When he finds an
earthworm he seizes it with the outer
surface of his forepaws. and Grams it
into his mouth, bit by bit. munching
all the while. like greedy boy eating
banana When he is fed in captivity
the crunching on the gritty particles
in the bodies of the worms can be
leard at a distance of several yards.
When in his burrow n mole can
move backward almost as fast as he
can move forward, and when for any
reason he moves over the surface OF
the ground. he runs on the edges of his
- ,,,.t 4. La