Aug. 1910.] The Common Mole. 21 



These dogs, he states, were a cross between a Scotch collie and 

 .& prairie wolf, or coyote. This and other evidence at hand 

 goes to show that the coyote, with his stealthy, skulking ways 

 and his inquisitive nose, probably unearths many a luckless 

 mole from the fancied security of his underground burrow. 

 Judging from their general habits, it is probable also that foxes 

 and badgers, and perhaps skunks, occasionally add moles to 

 their bill of fare. 



FLOODS. By far the greatest danger that manaces the adult 

 mole and his progeny is the inundation of lowlands by heavy 

 local rains or the waters of streams passing out of their 

 banks. Such flooding of the soil is of comparatively frequent 

 occurrence in the very situations where moles most abound, and 

 probably serves more than all other things combined to check 

 inordinate multiplication of the species. During the progress 

 of the great June floods in 1903 and 1908, in the valleys of the 

 Kansas and the Blue rivers, moles in large numbers could be 

 found along the railroad embankments and in the driftwood 

 that had lodged against the piers of bridges. What percentage 

 of the adults perish under such conditions it is not possible to 

 conjecture, but undoubtedly earlier spring freshets destroy 

 most of the young on the flooded grounds. Certainly many of 

 the adults survive these conditions, for they are good swim- 

 mers. On one occasion I captured more than a score in a 

 single drift lodged against some piers. They seemed to be as 

 vigorous and well fed as when taken under ordinary circum- 

 stances from surface burrows. This may be partly accounted 

 for by the fact that the drift was full of beetles and other in- 

 sects also seeking refuge from the water. Farmers and truck 

 growers on the bottom lands have reported that after a flood 

 subsides the moles and pocket gophers are not long in regain- 

 ing their lost ground. 



DAMAGE. 



Considered from the standpoint of food habits alone, it has 

 never been shown that the mole affects detrimentally the in- 

 terests of the farmer and gardener. Indeed, it can be proven 

 that quite the reverse is true. This statement will receive 

 further consideration under the next heading. When, how- 

 ever, the mole is charged with disfiguring lawns and parks, 

 destroying flower beds, tearing up the roots of grasses and 



