70 MY SUMMER IN A GAKL 



with a spade. He did not appear ; but, the next 

 time I passed by, he had ridged the ground in 

 all directions, a smooth, beautiful animal, with 

 fur like silk, if you could only catch him. He 

 appears to enjoy the lawn as much as the hack- 

 men did. He does not care how smooth it is. 

 He is constantly mining, and ridging it up. I 

 am not sure but he could be countermined. I 

 have half a mind to put powder in here and 

 there, and blow the whole thing into the air. 

 Some folks set traps for the mole ; but my moles 

 never seem to go twice in the same place. I am 

 not sure but it would bother them to sow the 

 lawn with interlacing snake-grass (the botanical 

 name of which, somebody writes me, is devil- 

 grass : the first time I have heard that the Devil 

 has a botanical name), which would worry them, 

 if it is as difficult for them to get through it as it 

 is for me. 



I do not speak of this mole in any tone of 



