298 GARDEN FOES. 



wedge of the slanting piece, and another is cut on the 

 side so as to take the upright. A slate or tile should be 

 laid on the ground, and near one end the upright piece 

 be stood. Bring the slanting one next in position, the 

 end with the cut made in it being placed on the top of 

 the other, the lower end of which is made to fit into the 

 horizontal one. The w^eight of the slate or tile resting on 

 the upper end of the slanting piece will hold thorn in posi- 

 tion until something pulls at the bait, when the whole 

 falls down together. 



Moles (Talpa europioa). — Although one naturally feels 

 a certain amount of regard for these " velvet-coated deni- 

 zens of the soil," because of the service they render in 

 devouring harmful Wirew^orms, Grubs, and Slugs, to say 

 nothing of Earthworms, yet one cannot ignore the fact 

 that they do a great deal of damage to our lawns and our 

 flower gardens by their active tunnellings beneath the sur- 

 face. Since we have no means of keei:)ing them out of 

 our gardens, and they will venture therein unbidden, we 

 must, out of regard for our plants and our lawns, adopt 

 means of capturing them in order to avert further damage. 



Kemedies. — The best way of capturing moles is by means 

 of the recognised iron mole-trap — set in every " I'un," and 

 not in a " mole-hill." Find out the runs, open the earth 

 with a spade, and then set the trap across the run and 

 cover with soil. Use gloves on the hands when handling 

 the trap, as moles have an acute sense of smell, and would 

 avoid entering it. Moles may be poisoned in the follow- 

 ing manner: Collect half a pint of earthworms, get a 

 chemist to add a drachm of strychnine to them ; stir well 

 for a few moiumts; then o])en holes hei'e an<l there in 

 the runs, di'oj) in a few woi'uis, and covci- with soil. An 

 excellent plan for those who la'cj) rt'trieNci' or fox icrriei' 

 dogs, is to train them to watch for nioh's at work, indi- 

 cated by the heaving of the soil, and then set the dogs 

 on to catch them. A smart dog w^ill pounce on a mole 

 at once, and bring it out in a moment. 



