2 



farmers' J5ULLETIN 583. 



It can, however, be readily distinguished from any of these by its 

 short, stout, front Hmbs ending in broad, rounded hands with pahiis 

 turned outward. It has a rather elongated body, close, plushhke 

 fur, a pointed snout, and a short tail. Neither external eyes nor ears 

 are in evidence. If not totally blind, the mole can at best merely 

 distinguish between light and darkness, as the vestigial organs of 

 sight lie whoUy beneath the skin. 



, HABITS. 



The mole is a 'creature of fetrictly subterranean habits. Such ex- 

 periences as fall to its lot must necessarily come through its sensitive 



Fig. 1.— Mole ridges in a sandy pasture. 



touch, acute hearing, or highly developed powers of smell. While 

 the animal is seldom seen above ground, it sometimes ventures out 

 of its tunnels, perhaps chiefly at night. 



RUNWAYS AND NESTS. 



The living quarters of the mole consist of a series of galleries and 

 tunnels 12 to 15 inches beneath the surface of the ground — usually 

 deep enough to escape the plow. This central part of the system 

 of runways can ordinarily be located by little piles of earth thrust up 

 from deeper tunnels. These elevations are easily distinguishable from 

 the surface ridgings (figs. 1 and 2) caused by the mole's burrowing 

 just beneath the sod. They may be looked for on the higher spots of 

 an open field or where natural objects offer concealment and shelter. 



