L June, 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 469 
animal’s body; its walls are smooth and formed of closely-compressed earth, its 
depth varying according to the nature of the soil, but ordinarily from 4 to 6 
inches. Along this tunnel the animal passes backwards and forwards several 
times daily, and here traps are laid by the mole-catcher for its capture. From 
the main run numerous passages are found on each side, along which the 
animal hunts its prey, throwing out the soil in the form of mole-hills. 
Mons. La Court says that in very rich, ploughed soil, the mole burrows 
close to the surface and sometimes runs along it, forming merely a groove or 
trench. 
In Europe, moles are systematically destroyed, but the only reason for this, 
so far as I can learn, is that their numerous hills are unsightly on lawns or on 
pasture land. Some farmers, however, will not destroy the molesin their fields, 
‘as they loosen the subsoil, aerate the soil, and furnish a fine top-dressing from 
the fine mould of the hills. aa 
The sexes come together in March—here in Queensland the season would 
be about September—and the young, usually from four to six in number, 
which are brought forth in about six weeks, quickly attain their full size. 
The mole is a perfectly harmless animal. The muzzle is long and obtusely 
‘pointed, terminated by the nostrils, which are close together in front. As to its 
teeth, the upper incisors are simply chisel-edged teeth, the canine is long and 
two-rooted ; then follow three sub-equal conical premolars, and a fourth much 
‘larger and like a canine. These are succeeded by three molars with W-shaped 
cusps. 
ac the lower jaw, the three incisors on each side are slightly smaller and 
‘slant more forward ; close behind them is a tooth which, though quite like them, 
must, from its position in front of the upper canines when the jaws are closed, 
be considered as the canine ; behind it, but separated by an interval, is a large 
double-rooted conical tooth, the first premolar ; the three following premolars 
‘are like the corresponding teeth above, but smaller, and are succeeded, as above, 
by three molars ; forty-four teeth in all. From this description of the little 
animal’s dentition it will be seen that it is a pure flesh-eater, and, for its size, 
one possessing formidable powers of attack and mastication. 
The minute eye is almost hidden by the fur; the ear is without a conch; 
the forelimbs are rather short and very muscular, terminating in broad, naked, 
shovel-shaped feet, the palms normally directed outward, each with five digits 
armed with strong, flattened claws. The hind feet, on the contrary, are long 
arid narrow, and the toes are provided with slender claws. The body is densely 
covered with soft, erect, velvety fur, the hairs uniform in length and thickness, 
except on the muzzle and short tail which is clothed with longer and coarser 
-hairs. The fur is generally black, but paler shades, even up to pure white, have 
been observed. 
Now, here is an animal harmless to vegetation, harmless to man, which will 
not devour the gardener’s friend—the toad—which aerates the soil by its bur- 
rowing, and which delights, above all things, in a full meal of cockchafer grubs. 
It has a very wide range geographically, being found in all countries from 
England to Japan, from the Scandinavian Range in Norway and the Middle 
Dwina in Russia to Southern Europe and the southern slopes of the Hima- 
layas, where it occurs at an elevation of 10,000 feet In Great Britain it is 
found as far north as Caithness, but in Ireland and the Western Islands of 
‘Scotland (except Mull) it is altogether unknown. Now I would make this 
suggestion: The mole can be procured from J apan or India. Let a hundred 
or so be imported, and place them on a piece of cane country infested with 
‘grubs. The cost of the experiment would be trifling. There need be no 
question of the moles devouring the grubs. The only thing to find out would 
be whether they could cope with such a multitudinous pest, however much they 
-might eat. Still, as the moles increased, so would the grubs decrease, and it is 
quite within the bounds of probability that, with the introduction of an animal 
which would hunt them underground, the cane grub would become a thing of 
the past. 
