MOLES. 69 



times daily, it is in it that snares are laid for its capture. The 

 excavations vary in their distance from the surface according to 

 the nature of the soil and other circumstances. In deep, rich 

 earth they are sometimes nearly a foot in depth, while in 

 gravelly or clayey ground, covered with a thin layer of soil, they 

 are often scarcely an inch. Often, also, the Mole burrows 

 quite close to the surface of rich, loose soil which has been 

 ploughed, and sometimes runs along it, forming merely a 

 groove or trench. The principal object of its pursuit is the 

 earth-worm, but it also feeds on larvae, and occasionally 

 devours frogs, lizards, and even birds.* Its voracity is excessive, 

 insomuch that hunger urges it to exhibit a kind of fury, and it 

 is found to perish in a very short time if deprived of food. It 

 drinks frequently, and forms passages to brooks or ponds in 

 the vicinity of its residence. During winter, when the cold forces 

 the worms deeper into the ground, it follows them in their re- 

 treats, driving its galleries and alleys to a corresponding depth." 

 On the above notes Mr. Trevor-Battye observes : " Mac- 

 gillivray's remarks require some modification. It is not strictly 

 true that ' each individual appropriates to itself a district,' for 

 Moles have often, I think generally, a common system of runs 

 used by various individuals from many different points. Thus 

 I have known as many as twenty-four full-grown Moles to be 

 taken in a single trap in one position, in a single run through a 

 gateway." As to its feeding on larvae, he says : " A curious 

 case came under my notice where some Moles had made a raid 

 on the larvae of cockchafers. Here they had been working 

 half their time above ground, driving short shafts down into 

 the roots of the sward, so that a friend thought at first that 

 Rooks had been at work." 



* We have ventured to make a verbal alteration in this and a subsequen 

 sentence, where statements given hypothetically are now known to be 

 certain. 



