At Home with Wild Nature 



catcher tied the bodies of seventeen dead moles to that 

 of a live one, and when the creature had buried itself 

 underground it easily dragged its load after it until the 

 bundle of dead specimens reached the mouth of the hole 

 by which the live animal had entered the earth, where, 

 of course, further progress was stopped. 



Moles, like shrew mice, often fight desperately 

 savage battles which not infrequently end in the victor 

 making a hearty meal off the body of the vanquished. 



You can always distinguish a mole's nesting hillock 

 from one thrown up to get rid of the earth in the con- 

 struction of a tunnel, because of its greater size. It is 

 a wonderful citadel, constructed on sound principles for 

 a ready escape in case of invasion by an enemy, and 

 with good drainage. I have examined many mouldi- 

 warps' nests in my time, but never found one water- 

 logged. The actual nest is made of dead grass, fibrous 

 roots, leaves, or any other suitable vegetable material, 

 according to circumstances. The young number from 

 three to seven in a litter, as a rule, but in the summer of 

 1922 a farmer told me in Fell-land that he had dug two 

 nests up a few weeks previously which contained eight 

 and nine young ones respectively. 



You can generally discover from afar the where- 

 abouts of the short-tailed field voles on the fellsides, 

 because the animals have a habit of nibbling the bent 

 grass off close by their holes and runs and it lies dead 

 in conspicuous brown patches. 



Whilst resting on a peat bank one hot day in the 

 spring of 1922 I suddenly detected the low, sweet 



1 06 



