MOLE. 137 



a square piece of iron with a hole through it, which the 

 slightest touch would displace ; and the Mole, running 

 along its passage, threw the trigger, as it may be called, 

 and was caught by the branches springing sharply to- 

 gether. This appears to be a very simple, certain, and 

 effectual instrument ; but it is considerably improved 

 upon in one now much employed in this country, in which 

 the hinge, connecting the two branches, is placed in the 

 middle, the spring behind, and the trigger before the 

 hinge. A sort of box-trap has been recommended in 

 some places ; but it has the defect of being less certain, 

 and at the same time it is not free from the objection of 

 cruelty ; as the Moles are taken alive, and when several 

 are confined in the trap together, they fight in the most 

 desperate manner, wounding and even destroying each 

 other. In the middle parts of England a very effective 

 and simple trap is made by sticking into the ground an 

 ash or hard stick, three or four feet long, to the free end 

 of which a loop of fine brass wire is attached, and the 

 stick being bent down, the wire is made to pass through 

 a hole in a small piece of board, into which a peg is 

 introduced from below, to prevent the wire from being 

 withdrawn by the elasticity of the stick. The board is 

 so placed as to form a small portion of the roof of the 

 run, and is firmly kept in position by sticks laid horizon- 

 tally across it, which are pegged down at their ends by 

 hooked pegs. The loop of wire passing through the 

 board is opened below, so as to fit the inside of the run ; 

 and the peg, which keeps it from being drawn up by the 

 spring-stick, projects downwards into the middle of the 

 run. The Mole, passing along, pushes out the peg, 

 whilst its own body is within the wire loop, which is 

 instantly drawn up, and the creature is speedily killed. 

 The Mole is not found in the northern extremity of 



