Industry of the Mole 91 



This soil was probably derived from old glacial action, and 

 the depression represented an ancient lakelet, that had 

 subsequently been filled up by a growth of peat. This 

 peaty area was perhaps about thirty yards in diameter, and 

 was surrounded by at least a hundred yards of the stony 

 debris. There were no mole-hills anywhere on the whole 

 area when I first became acquainted with it. Early in 

 March, the first hillocks appeared on the margin of the 

 peaty soil, and for about three weeks they slowly increased 

 in number at very regular intervals of about five yards 

 apart. Sometimes more than one new hill was thrown up 

 in the course of twenty-four hours, at others a day or two 

 elapsed without any addition being made to the line, but 

 whenever a fresh one did appear, it was sure to be at about 

 its proper distance from the last, and always in the direct 

 line of advance, all skirting the edge of the softer and richer 

 soil, and marking out the old depression almost as regularly 

 as the dotted lines upon a map. This main run was too far 

 below the surface to leave any trace upon it, save for the 

 line of heaps ; but branching out from it were many shallow 

 side tracks, just below the roots of the grass, and visible 

 enough on the surface. These latter, of course, marked the 

 foraging excursions of the animal, and the heaps the steady 

 occupation of new territory. This all agrees very well with 

 the known habits of the mole, except that no hillocks, nor 

 any visible track, marked the way by which the pilgrim had 

 crossed the desert. Unfortunately, the farmer now arrived 

 upon the scene, the hillocks offended his eye, a trap was 

 set, and, passing one morning, 1 found my poor Mole dead. 

 It was a female. The hillocks gradually disappeared, and 

 no other Mole worked that reserve throughout the re- 

 mainder of that summer. 



Early in the following autumn, however, I was particularly 

 glad to notice that another Mole was at work there, two 

 hills had been thrown up in the night, but, as before, no 

 track was visible by which the hard land had been crossed, 

 and the ground was so closely examined that it was not 

 possible that it could have been overlooked had it existed. 

 There was no doubt whatever that this Mole must have 



