72 TEXT-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY 



moss, leaves or grass. Frequently this central chamber is surrounded 

 by one or two annular tubes or canals, which communicate by passages 

 with each other and with the central chamber. If the dwelling is at a 

 distance from the animal's hunting-ground in a protected spot, as under 

 a wall or a stone heap, a long firmly-built passage, the " run," leads 

 from the chamber to the hunting-ground, which is traversed by burrows 

 in all directions, and can be recognised by the small earth heaps or 

 molehills. If, on the other hand, the central chamber lies right in the 

 midst of the hunting-ground, no " run " is constructed, the burrows in 

 this case radiating directly from the central chamber or the annular 

 canals. 



2. About six times a day the mole traverses its wide domain in 

 search of the necessary food. If its hunting-ground ceases to supply a 

 sufficiency of daily food, it proceeds to extend its range ; and if the 

 ground is utterly depleted, the animal turns its back upon it and goes 

 in search of " fresh fields and pastures new." 



D. Position of the Mole in the Economy of Nature and in 

 Relation to Man. 



1. In Regard to other Animals. — (a) We have already learnt what 

 animals specially become its victims. 



(b) Like the woodpecker (which see), who works for others beside 

 himself, the mole also is a useful builder for other animals. The weasel 

 enters its passages in pursuit of field-mice, whilst the humble-bees, who 

 almost exclusively pollinate the flowers of the red clover, nearly always 

 select the central chamber of the mole for their nests. 



(c) Foxes, martens, owls and falcons, ravens and storks, lie in ambush 

 for the mole while he is throwing up his earth-heaps, while the weasel 

 pursues him in his underground passages. 



2. In Regard to Man. — In places where the mole lives principally or 

 exclusively on larvae and mice, it is without denial the farmer's truest 

 helpmate, for no other animal is so successful in getting at all kinds of 

 underground vermin. On the other hand, where these insect pests are 

 absent and the mole consequently relegated principally to a diet of earth- 

 worms, it undoubtedly inflicts much damage, inasmuch as these worms 

 (which see) are of the highest value in working the soil. Neverthe- 

 less, earthworms sometimes appear in such numbers that they destroy 

 whole crops, after they have been sown, by pulling the young plants into 

 their tubes. In such cases the mole once more renders good service. 

 Indeed, it is true of this animal, as of many others, that it is useful in 

 one place, destructive in another. Accordingly, an intelligent gardener or 



