333 
INSECTIVORES. 
less than a quarter of an inch in length, and is completely concealed among the 
fur of the body., 
The European mole is remarkable for its wide geographical dis¬ 
tribution, ranging from England in the west, through Asia north of 
the Himalaya to Japan, and extending northwards as far as the Altai Mountains. 
Like its cousin, the common shrew, it is, however, unknown in Ireland. The “ runs ” 
of the European mole are very similar to those of the American moles already 
referred to, but the central chamber, or dwelling-place, is of a more complex 
structure. As this dwelling-place will be found described in detail in almost all 
works treating of the mole, it will suffice to mention here that it is usually placed near 
a hillock, or between two trees, and is composed of a central chamber with passages 
THE COMMON MOLE (§ Hat. size). 
conducting to two circular galleries placed one above another. The higher of these 
two galleries has a smaller diameter than the lower one. From the larger lower 
gallery there are given off several diverging runs, one of which is larger than either 
of the others, and is known as the main run, being the one which alone leads to the 
burrows driven in various directions for the purpose of procuring food. These 
burrows, or runs, except when so close to the surface as to allow of the earth being 
raised directly upwards in the form of a ridge showing their course, are marked at 
intervals by the well-known “ mole-hills,” which are mounds of loose earth pushed 
up from below, and not containing any internal chamber or passages. 
Since the voracity of the mole is proverbial, and its food consists exclusively of 
earth-worms, insects, and their larvae, its visits ought to be welcomed alike by the 
farmer and the gardener. As a matter of fact, however, the mole has an awkward 
habit of driving its tunnels below the drilled rows of young farm and garden crops. 
