472 Y< arbooh of the Department of Agriculture, 101!). 



MOLES. 



Moles live entirely underground in burrows made by 

 pressing aside with their large and very powerful forefeet 

 the earth through which they pass. They can not force their 

 way through earth that is dry and hard, and for this reason 

 they are found only where there are frequent rains. When 

 the ground is soft with moisture and earthworms are driven 



Fig. 16. — Scissor-jaw. or Grippinsr-jaw. Trap for 

 Moles. 



Phantom view, showing position in relation to a deeper 

 runway of the mole. The jaws must straddle the course 

 of the runway and, in order that they may act quickly, 

 the soil must be loosened with a trowel and freed from 

 obstructions, as sticks, stones, or clods. 



up among the grass roots, moles, following them to the 

 surface, throw up unsightly ridges and destroy plants by 

 loosening or breaking their roots. The large Townsend 

 mole of the northwest coast region throws up mounds of 

 earth also which are very annoying in hay and grain fields 

 and even in pasture land, where they cover no small amount 

 of grass. Mole hills consist of pellets or balls of earth, and 



