The Common Mole of the Eastern United States Page: 2
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FARMERS' BULLETIN 583.
It can, however, be readily distinguished from any of these by its
short, stout, front limbs ending in broad, rounded hands with palms
turned outward. It has a rather elongated body, close, plushlike
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 wholly beneath the skin.
HABITS.
The mole is a creature of strictly subterranean habits. Such ex-
periences as fall to its lot must necessarily come through its sensitiveFIG. 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.2
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Scheffer, Theodore H. The Common Mole of the Eastern United States, pamphlet, 1914; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc85793/m1/2/?rotate=180: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.