Volume 6t Number 8 I 
New Series* Number 86 I 
SATURDAY, 
MAY 22, 1875. 
Established A. D. 1871, 
84iaYear, 10 cts a Cooy 
THE SILVERY MOLE. 
[Scalops argentatm.'\ 
BY DR. ELLICTT CODES, U. 8. A. 
The very general prejudice against moles of all kinds, 
which leads to th*e destruction of some of the farmer’s 
best friends, results from ignorance of their habits, and 
from confounding them with some other small under- 
ground animals which are really hurtful to the agricul- 
turist. I indulge the hope that the columns of The 
Rod and Gun may be in some measure instrumental in 
removing the ill-will against these beneficial creatures. 
As just hinted, there are indeed a number of small 
animals undeniably injurious to the farmer and fruiter- 
ei. Some of them, in fact, rank next after the grass- 
hoppers and certain other insects in the scale of noxious 
creatures, whose attacks upon crops and fruit trees im- 
mensely overbalance any goud they are known to do. 
But all of these, without exception, are vegetable-eaters, 
belonging to the great order of the “gnawers,” or if<3- 
dentia. Some, like the rabbits, destroy fruit trees and 
shrubbery by girdling, to eat the bark, or feed upon the 
tender shoots of grain. A far greater number, among 
them the m'ny kinds of field mice, devour the grain it- 
self, both in seed and in harvest; others, again, such as 
the gophers, commit havoc with tuberous crops like po- 
tatoes, and various tap-rooted plants. The field mice 
and gophers, next after some kinds of insects, are the 
greatest enemies of the husbandman. Like moles, they 
are great burrowerg; and this fact, perhaps, has tended 
to bring the harmless moles under the ban. The farmer 
finds his crops injured by various animals that burrow 
in his fields; moles burrow in his fields; ergo, moles in- 
jare his crops. There is a good deal of such leaky 
logic. But the simple fact is, that moles suffer for the 
company they Iteep. They are altogether different 
creatures. They occupy, in their own sphere, the place 
filled by the insectivorous birds in theirs. They are in- 
sectivorous, and devour untold numbers of noxious in- 
sects. They never touch vegetable food. What little 
harm they do when they are extremely numerous bears 
no proportion to the benefits they confer, and is of no 
more account than the cherry that a robin steals. 
It might seem unnecessary to describe a mole, and 
point out how it differs from some other small under- 
ground animals; but the fact that it is not seldom con- 
founded with such distantly related creatures as field 
mice, shows that a little more information will not be 
out of place. Moles constitute a family, Talpidce, of the 
order Insectirora. There are several genera, inhabiting 
different portions of the globe except the tropics. Tal- 
pa is European and Asiatic, A beautiful genus Chry- 
eochloris, is found in parts of Africa. North America 
is the richest in genera, having three very distinct ones. 
Urotrichua occurs in the Northwest, and also in Japan; 
it is a peculiar and not very vrell known form. Condy- 
lura is a remarkable genus, common in the United 
States, distinguished by a fringe of radiating temtacles 
around the snout. Scalapa is the commonest and bsst 
known genus, containing several species, one or more of 
which is found in nearly all parts of the United States. 
Any one of the species is immediately distinguished, in- 
dependently of other characters, by the absence of the 
two pair of large front teeth which mark the rodents. 
The teeth are all small, and very numerous; our species 
of Scalops have from 36 to 44 in all — quite a mouthful. 
The snout is very slender and sharp pointed, a sort of 
proboscis in miniature, sticking out beyond the mouth. 
The next most remarkable feature is the enormous fore 
feet, set close to the body upon very short stout arms, 
so twisted that the palm of the hand presents vertically 
outward, held on edge, thumb-side downward. These 
curious spade-like hands, armed with stout claws, are 
the efficient instruments by which the animals plough 
their way through the stiffest soils, with the same ease 
with which an ordinary animal walks on the surface. 
In fact such is their peculiar conformation, that they 
make better progress under ground than on it. The 
ears are extremely minute, not likely to be seen at all 
unless carefully looked for. The eyes are smaller still, 
in fact only rudimentary, sometimes actually covered 
over with skin; so that the saying “as blind as a mole” 
18 founded on fact. The body is stout and clumsy; 
there is no neck; the limbs and tail are short. One of 
the most beautiful things about a mole is its remarkable 
coat of fur, as dense and soft as velvet — altogether a 
much finer article than the fabricknown as “moleskin.” 
Our several species of Scalopa resemble each other 
closely, and are usually classed as one species under the 
name of “ground moles.” They differ, however, in ex- 
cellent technical characters; but their general habits are 
much the same. The silvery or prairie mole, 8. argenta- 
tus, differ.s chiefly from the usual eastern species in its 
color, which is a silvery gray or slats gray, reflecting 
various rich bronzy or purplish tints in different lights. 
It is an abundant species in various western States, where 
it replaces the eastern 8. aquatieua-, in Michigan, Ohio, 
Indiana and Illinois, south to Louisiana, and west to 
Nebraska. It is some six or seven inches long, the tail 
an inch or more. 
The two most marked traits of this mole, which it 
shares with its allies, are its immense strength, and in- 
ordinate voracity. The whole conformation indicates 
great muscular power, required to force its way without 
exhaustion through the earth. One can hardly hold 
down a mole with all the strength that can be exerted with 
one hand, the animal will succeed in slipping from the 
grasp. In traveling under ground, the snout, moved in 
various directions, ik supposed to facilitate loosening of 
particles of earth; but the progress is mainly effected 
by the powerful fore feet. These are brought round in 
front, palms outward, and the earth pushed back with 
a motion like that of the arms of a person in swimming, 
the hinder parts of the body being meanwhile supported 
by the hind feet, which are not of remarkable propor- 
tions. When traveling near the surface, the force ex- 
erted in progressing forward suffices to throw up a ridge 
of eaith. These ridges, marking the track of the ani- 
mal, are familiar to everyone, extending many feet or 
even yards, unbroken, in a zigzag course. It is only 
upon reflection that we realize what enormous strength 
is exerted in thus forcing a passage, when one conse- 
quence of the movement is the elevation en maaae of the 
ground. Fresh mole tracks are only observed in the 
warmer months, in this country; in the winter, the ani- 
mal appears to burrow deeper, probably beyond the in- 
fluence of frost. As far as known, our Inaectirora do 
not hybernate, like many rodents and some carnivora. 
Species of Shrews {8orex), of the same order, have been 
found abroad in the northermost States during winter, 
when the mows were deep, and the thermometer far be- 
low lero. Such being the case, moles must search for 
food the year around, and this they probably do, in 
winter, at considerable depths, as just intimated. 
What little mischief moles may do, in places where 
they are extremely numerous, is merely incidental to 
their wanderings after food, and therefore, so to speak, 
unintentional. In continually ploughing through the 
f reund, they necessarily sometimes interfere with grow- 
ing crops. But this is nothing compared with the good 
they do in destroying myriads of noxious insects. To 
their voracity I have already alluded. Their eating 
power has been made the subject of experiment with in- 
dividuals kept in captivity. I forget the exact figures, 
but it was something startling, reminding one of the 
little pig that ate the pailful of swill and then got into 
the bucket without half filling it. Earthworms appear 
to be their favorite food, and probably hundreds of 
these creatures are daily destroyed by each mole. I 
should not be surprised if the geographical distribution 
of the species of Scalopa in this country were found 
closely coincident with that of Lumbricua. As an item 
bearing upon thus, I may state there are probably no 
moles in the Saskatchewan region, and neighboring 
United States territory; and we have excellent authority 
(Sir John Richardson) for the statement that there are 
no earthworms ip that country. Besides worms, the 
mole eats and grubs for beetles that come in his way. 
Animals kept in confinement feed greedily upon raw 
meat; and it is fair to infer that in a state of nature they 
devour such young quadrupeds or even birds, as they 
come upon. If this be true, as it probably is, they 
are enemies of the noxious field mice themselves. 
These animals bring forth underground, and their blind, 
helpless young would be easy prey for the mole. This 
will probably be proven, and the mole turn out to be 
the natural agent to check the increase of injurious ro- 
dents as well as of noxious insects. 
Let the farmer look to his interests then, and spare 
the moles. If their presence on his premises is in un- 
necessary and obviously injurious numbers, he may turn 
them out, but by no means should he seek to extirpate 
them. When they seem to follow the track of his 
plough, let him remember that they are not after what 
he plants, but that they come to destroy enemies of his 
crops. That they follow him for two reasons : first, 
because he makes the ground easier for them to travel 
in, and secondly, because the insects and the rodents 
always attend his steps. Railroads interfere with agri- 
culture to some extent; but no one must try to extir- 
pate moles unless by parity of reasoning he is also pre- 
pared to advocate the abolishment of railroads. 
