Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/246

ground, they are said to have no fear of one beneath the sod, and either jump or fall inside, where they may be allowed to remain some time with no fear of their escaping.

The jug trap is only suitable for small animals.

Moles are, generally speaking, harmless creatures who render the farmer a great service by devouring immense quantities of grubs and larvæ; but when one of these little animals finds its way under the sod of the lawn it plays sad havoc with the looks of the grass, furrowing the surface with ridges, and marring the appearance by dirt hills.

From the fact that the mole travels under ground, I have spent considerable time in trying to find a trap to catch this subterranean animal. Among we boys that lived in the valley of the Ohio River, a mole skin was highly prized as a sort of Image missingFig. 138.Construction of the Figure Four. fetich that, when used as a "knuckle dabster" to rest our hands on in a game of marbles, not only prevented our hands from becoming soiled—which was no great matter—but also insured good luck to the happy boy who possessed a knuckle dabster made of a mole skin. There are but very few animals that can boast of fur as soft and fine as that which covers the back of the common mole.

A mole trap can be made in the old reliable figure four style, with which most of my readers are no doubt familiar.