. A history of British mammals . is a ballof grass, or leaves and moss,^ or a mixture of all three. MrAdams found a nest made entirely of dead beech leaves, othersentirely of dead oak leaves. In a nest made of grass the finestand driest material is in the centre, the coarsest outside andmixed with damp earth. Usually, if taken out bodily, the nestmust be unwound to find the centre, but on land where thegrass is short it comes to pieces very easily. There is never ahole apparent, and not only is the nest always found closedwhen the young are within, but in all cases, even when old andlong deser
. A history of British mammals . is a ballof grass, or leaves and moss,^ or a mixture of all three. MrAdams found a nest made entirely of dead beech leaves, othersentirely of dead oak leaves. In a nest made of grass the finestand driest material is in the centre, the coarsest outside andmixed with damp earth. Usually, if taken out bodily, the nestmust be unwound to find the centre, but on land where thegrass is short it comes to pieces very easily. There is never ahole apparent, and not only is the nest always found closedwhen the young are within, but in all cases, even when old andlong deserted. When dry grass is not obtainable fresh greengrass is used, which soon withers and gets dry with the heatof the moles body. The inside of the nest is warm to thetouch when the animal has not long quitted it. Nests con-taining young, as well as those of the males found in theirfortresses, are invariably infested with fleas and mites. Despite le Courts contrary assertions, Mr Adams has in This paragraph, Jide Adams and Pygmy or Lesser Shrews. THE COMMON MOLE, MOLDWARP OR WANT 25 only one instance found a nest in which the component materialswere mixed with fur taken from the Moles own body.^ Hebelieves that the presence of the fur was accidental, and due tonatural moulting of the coat. Sometimes the fur of otheranimals, or the feathers of birds, especially rooks and fowls, findtheir wayMnto the nest, but it is difficult to decide whetherfur or feathers are used knowingly or merely by chance.* Nearly every fortress has a bolt-run, by which the molecan escape when surprised in the nest. This run leads down-wards from the bottom of the nest, and then turns upward andout of the fortress by a tunnel of its own, and is very rarelyconnected with any of the other numerous exits of the only fortresses that I have seen without the bolt-run havebeen on marshy land, where such a tunnel would have led towater.* (See Figs. 9 and 15.) Occasionally one comes upon a downs
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1910
