FRIENDS OR FOES? 



said of the good an' the harm o' moles. But I 

 say, mister, 'tis a rare drop down fur a chap, from 

 a double barrel to a mole-spud an' they traps, an' I 

 be gettin' in years now." 



As a rule the mole takes the side of the road ; 

 but I have seen him sometimes, when he has taken 

 it into his head to explore in the hedgerow, poking 

 and twisting his nose about in all directions, now 

 and again holding up his head to sniff, then run- 

 ning on as before. 



If a nest of young robins but newly hatched 

 should lie in his way, I would not give much for 

 their little lives, or for those of the young of .the 

 willow-wrens. All small birds which build on the 

 ground run the risk of losing their young by their 

 becoming a prey to the mole. 



I have picked him up at times cautiously by 

 the back, for he bites in a most fierce manner, 

 and wriggles about desperately in his attempts to 

 escape. 



Any one that is familiar, through much observa- 

 tion, with the mole's method of working, can tell 

 from his movements when the weather is about to 

 change. 



