Aug. 1910.] The Common Mole. 29 



Raisins. Raisins were poisoned by removing the seeds and 

 inserting crystals of strychnia. About sixty per cent of these 

 raisins were taken, but they proved to be the most efficient 

 bait tried. Thirty-six per cent of the runways still showed 

 fresh work, however. This bait is recommended by the de- 

 partment of botany of the Michigan State Agricultural Col- 

 lege. 



Green corn. Corn in the roasting-ear stage was cut from the 

 cob and treated with a poisoned mixture prepared by dissolv- 

 ing an ounce of strychnia sulphate in a pint of hot water and 

 mixing this with a pint of thick sugar syrup. This bait proved 

 to be of little value, for in seventy-six per cent of the trials it 

 was left untouched. In the remaining cases one-third of the 

 runways continued to be worked. 



Corn. Corn soaked over night and then treated with the 

 poisoned syrup prepared at this Station for prairie dogs gave 

 largely negative results. Seventy-five per cent of the runs 

 treated continued to be worked by moles. Syrup prepared for 

 pocket gophers was used on soaked corn as bait with somewhat 

 better results, about fifty-six per cent of the runways treated 

 showing no further evidence of mole operations. 



CATCHING ALIVE. If one cares to take the time in morn- 

 ing or evening he can often catch a mole at work by watching 

 in a spot where fresh burrowing operations have been noted. 

 Approach very quietly the place where the earth is being 

 heaved up and suddenly strike a spade into the ridge behind 

 the animal and throw it out on the surface. If no spade or 

 other suitable implement is at hand stamp the burrow down 

 behind the mole with the foot and then subject the spot di- 

 rectly over the mole to like treatment or dig the animal out by 

 hand. 



When watering a lawn or irrigating a garden one can occa- 

 sionally drive a mole to the surface by permitting a stream of 

 water from hose or ditch to run into an open burrow for some 

 time. This plan is not usually practicable, however, for it 

 entails a waste of water, softens up spots in the lawn until 

 they become boggy, and may result in flooding a cellar through 

 an unsuspected runway following along the wall. 



ROLLING THE LAWN. Repeated leveling of the mole ridges 

 on a lawn by means of a suitable roller not only tends to dis- 

 courage the animals from making any further inroads on the 



