The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-05-26
M0LES YIELD A
 VALUABLE FUR
American Product Every Whit As Good As Esaropeap,
 Say Experts.

to the gradually decreasing number of wild fur bearing animals mole skins have found ready market and are valuable commercial1y, according to the Farmers Bulletin 5s3. Depart ment of Agriculture. It is sfgnifi- cant Of the lack of attention to small business matters. however that Amer ican noleskins a.re not quoted or of- fered on the. markets. All the skins used by American furriers are inn ported from Europe.
 Auction lists of fur dealers in Lcn- don show that more than 3,000,000 moleskins were sold in 1911, 1912, and 1913. A small lot of American
 noIeskins secured by the Biological Survey. U. s. Department Of Agricni- ture. was prepared and made up by them in every respect equal or super for to European skins. It seennsS likely, therefore. that a new industry amounting to many thousands Of dollars annually might be developed in this country.
 Tn this country here are five re- cognized groups of true n1o1es. two of which are confined to he Pacific coast and the other three are distri- bllted over the section east Of EI10 one hundredth meridian extending from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Tn the latter districts and in the great CT part of Pennsylvania, New York, and New England the common mole occurs together with the star-nosed
 mole and Brewers mole.
 The mole is so seldom seens even by those who are familiar with its work, that it is often confused with other small creatures, particularly the shrew, the mole or meadow mouse, and the pocket gopher. How 1,a <1 Trff ffvSa YAH by it's stout. short. front limbs ending in broad. rounded hands with palms turned outward. It has a rather elongated body. close pIushlike fur, a pointed snout, and a short tail. Neither eyes nor ears are in evidence. It is a creature of strictly subterra- mean habits
 It is believed commonly that the mole works only at regular periods each day. but direct observation talk en late in summer and fall fall to subetantfate the theory. The nofes are distasteful and seldom eaten by domestic eats and dogs which have owls take small toll from the mole tribe. as an examination of the con- tents of the stcnachs of over z,000 Of these birds disclosed the remains of but I rnoIes, of which had been eaten by the red-tailed hawk, 4 by the ed-shouldered hawk. and one each by the broad-winged hawk, the barred owl, the great gray owl, and the screech owl.
 From an examination of the ston- ach contents of 200 moles taken in all months of the year it was found that earth.woRrns and white gTubsl constitute the bulk of the food. Beet les and their larvae, spiders, centi7 pedes, cocoons, and puparia also form q part of the diet. Seed coats of corn. wheat oats, and peanuts have been seldom found in stonachs1 Of the moles.
 Complaints Of damage or depre- daticns by n1oIee are frequent and insistant However, in very many show that the smaller rodents which follow the mole's runways are re- sponsible for the damage to corn and other cultivated seed products that grow under ground.
 When it is desirable to destroy the mole. the trap will be found to be the most efficient means. So far all experiments undertaken with the ob- ject of finding an acceptable poison bait have given negative results, as the very nature of the animals food makes it difficult to secure a satis- factory substitute of live worms, grubs and insects Moreover the little anil
 
 to sense the danger in poisonous sub stances.
 There are q number of excellent mole traps on the market, most of which will give good results if pro- perly set. There are the harpoon, the scissor-jaw. and the choker types Harpooning traps are 1designSd to. irnpa1e the mole in the ground by sprfng-driven spikes. The scissor jaw traps are intended to be set astride the runway to grasp the mole firmly when he attempts to pass in either direction. and the cholxer trap has set of wire loops that encircle the burrow when the trap is set. All three types are designed to be sprung by the same sort of mechanism, a trigger pan resting on a depressed portion of the mole ridge in such a way as to be lifted when the animal passes beneath.
 Erastus H. Cox from point of ser o1S cir, na,- ix, 4Sr.a Tr,,1%or%