This mole (_Scalops aquaticus_) is the most common species in the
eastern portion of the United States. Moles are considered as animals
of a fairly high order, on account of their forelegs' being developed
into perfect scoops for digging. They live almost entirely in
underground retreats, where they lead a very peculiar life. They are
found over nearly all Europe, a great part of Asia, southern Africa,
and North America, and their habits are in almost every respect
similar. Their varieties are not numerous, but it is possible that
there are still a great many species as yet unknown to naturalists.
They are all shaped and endowed, says Brehm, in so striking a manner
as to be instantly recognizable. The body is stout and of cylindrical
shape, and merges into a small head without the intervention of a
distinct neck. The body is supported on short legs; the forward pair
appear to be relatively gigantic digging tools, while the hind limbs
are longer and resemble those of the rat. The teeth are from thirty-six
to forty-four in number.
Moles all delight in fertile plains, though they are also found in
mountains. As the effect of light is painful to them, they seldom come
to the surface, and even in the depth of the earth they are more active
by night than by day. Their movements in their underground passages are
much more rapid than when on the surface of the ground, where they can
scarcely walk. They are also good swimmers when compelled by necessity
to resort to the water.
Of the senses of the moles it is said those of smell, hearing, and
touch are especially well developed, while that of sight is deficient.
All moles are quarrelsome, are addicted to vicious biting, and they
take pleasure in devouring their own kind. They eat only animal food,
all kinds of insects living under ground, worms, and the like, though
they also feed on small mammals and birds, frogs, and snails. They
are exceedingly voracious, and as they can endure hunger only for a
very short time, they do not hibernate. They are undoubtedly useful as
exterminators of insects, though on account of their digging habits
they are considered a nuisance by the farmer.
It was long thought that moles were blind, or had no eyes. The eyes,
however, are about the size of a small seed lie midway between the tip
of the snout and the ears, and are completely covered with the hair of
the head. They are protected by lids, and may be projected or retracted
at will.
Once or twice a year the female mole gives birth to from three to five
young. They grow rapidly, and remain with the mother for one or two
months. Then they begin digging on their own account and require no
further attention. They have been found to be very difficult to keep in
captivity by reason of their insatiable appetite.
As the mole is obliged constantly to construct new hillocks in order to
secure its food, it cannot long hide itself from its enemies. It digs
horizontal shafts at a slight depth from the surface, and in order to
remove the earth it has dug up, it throws up the well-known hillocks.
Many a beautiful lawn has been nearly ruined by the handiwork of this
little creature, who likes to bore its snout into loose soil and throw
it backward with its powerful forepaws. In a single night it can undo
much of the labor of the gardener. In loose ground the animal is said
to work with really admirable rapidity. Oken kept a mole in a box of
sand for three months, and observed the animal work its way in it
nearly as rapidly as a fish glides through the water, snout foremost,
using the forepaws to throw the sand to the side and the hind limbs to
push it backward. Lecourt, wishing to investigate the speed of a mole
in its conduits, set up in a row a number of heavy straws in the main
conduit, arranged so that the mole could not run along the passages
without touching them. To the tops of these straws he fastened small
paper flags, and when the mole was occupied in its hunting ground,
he frightened it with the sound of a bugle, and thus caused it to
run into the main conduit. Then the little flags fell down one after
another, the instant the mole touched them, and the observer and his
assistants had an opportunity to correctly record the speed of its
course for a short distance.
C. C. M.
[Illustration: FROM COL. CHI. ACAD. SCIENCES.
COMMON MOLE.
3/4 Life-size.
COPYRIGHT 1899,
NATURE STUDY PUB. CO., CHICAGO.]