ANIMALS THAT LIVE IN TRENCHES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLII, Issue 12823, 15 April 1916, Page 3 (Supplement)

ANIMALS THAT LIVE IN TRENCHES.

Now that so large a part of civiliset humanity has reverted temporarily t, the. domestic habits as well as tin primitive ferocity of our ancestors, tht cave-men and cliff-dwellers, it is interesting to note the analogies between the modern trenches built for defensive warfare and the burrow and underground tunnels constructed by varioiv. animals as refuges and homes. M. Henri Coupin has an article on this subject in a late number of La Nature (Paris). He calls our attention to th: fact that the highest as well as the lowest orders of animals construct-such earthworks, for there are numerous examples among mammals arid birds as well as among spiders and insects. ! One of the best known earth-dwelling mammals is the common mole, whose delicate fur has of late years become an important article of commerce j and whoso French name, taupe, has entered the English language as a synonym of its soft neutral color. "Moles -are past masters of the art of excavating the soil and disappearing from view. They are aided in bheir underground road-making by their large fore-paws, provided with powerful claws .which serve at once io; }ieks, shovels, and rakes. If one of bhem be extracted from his retreat and olaced on the ground, it digs its way ruder so rapidly that it disappears n :he twinkling of an eye, and then esablishes a system of subterranean :anals in comparison with which the ■bowels' of our enemies' trenches are )Ut playthings. To try to pursuer-t unong them is a very difficult affair, md only an experienced! mole-digger *an succeed at it." Besides its tunnels the moles estabisli at certain points ''dungeons" v'hich serve as general living quarters. Ln the interior of the dungeon is a •ounded chamber which serves for a •esting-place. This is four or five nclies in diameter. It is surrounded ry two circular concentric conduits or galleries. Of these the external one i; irranged on the same plane as the restihamber, from, which, it is from seven :o twelve inches distant, while the one nside is at a higher level. From, the nner room three passages run obliquey uuward, opening into the inner cirsular gallery, which is connected with ;he outer gallery by five or six descendng passages alternating with ths first mes. From this outer gallery run sight or ten diverging passages running n everv direction but curving to enter ;he principal tunnel. A safety pas;ago descends from th e interior cham>er, then curves upward and opens nto an airpassage or chimney. The vails of this elaborate earth-citadtel are ;hick, smooth, and well packed. In tli 3 •hamber is a soft bed of leaves, grass, •ootlets, etc., mostly brought from the mtside by the little creature to tself comfortable. Other well-known burrowing animats ire the fox, rabbit, and badger. The irst of these digs or steals a deep ibamber, whose ramifications end in --. arge cul-de-sac. "The chambers are. arranged around ho principal burrow which is three net-res deep (over three yards), with i perimetre of from fifteen to twenty netres and a dungeon of one metre in lepth. The galleries communicate vith each other by transverse passages md have divers openings to serve m :aso of flight. "The badger also seeks safety m an ilmost subterranean life- ... Its ;trength enables it to dig with surmising rapiditv. In a few minutes tis completely buried. Its vigor>us forepaws. whose dSgits are com)letely united and armed with solid •laws, are a great help; its hind feet lelp it to throw out earth; but when ;he work is too advanced.it proceeds jackward, thus sweeping all the earth mtwards. Of all the animals which lwell in burrows the badger builds the argest and: takes most precautions. The tunnels are seven to ten metres ong, and their openings are some ;hirty paces apart. The dungeon ex;ends a metre and a half under ground: f it is on a steep slope this depth ;ometimes reaches four or five metres, rat in this case, there are usuaUy yen■ilating tunnels which open vertically. Other mammals which buildi similar lonies are the rabbit, marmoset-, pran-ic low, and ground-squirrel, as well as he "fence" fox of Northern Africa ind the ornit-horynchus. It is more surprising to find such frail and airoving - creatures as birds building •ar.thwbrks' for their homes, yet ttu xmrmon . cliffswallow performs an Imnense work with; apparent ease. "In-two or three days a panv-wiU lio- a cavity five .to eight centimetres it°the entrance, still more spacious al ;he bottom, and:- opening into a pUerj >ne or'even two metres long. Attms ;ime-the activity of these birds is alnost prodigious. . - Very curious toe s another, bird, tho Geositte, caUet >y the Spanish the Canta or- Irttk nason, which', nests at the .end of _ a larrow forfbw extending horizontal!; » a distance of two-metres. . • -Dar Tin writes: The bird:chooses to buik ts-residence on a little slope on firm though sandy soil, on the edge of r •oaH or stream. Here (in Bahia Blanca ,he walls are made of earth. I noticec ihat.those which surrounded' the house vhere I ■ lived were - pierced in manj jlaces'with round holes. . - I-rhter-ogated my landlord on the--subject ind"*he complained bitterly of these jirds, and later I myself saw them at vork. A singular thing is -that they «em to have no idea of thickness; else ,hey would not attempt to dig their rarrows in clay walls whose dimensions -hey should know from continually "flyng around ..them. I a.m persuaded ,hatthe lira is stupefied when it finds tself suddenly in the daylight after >§3tetrating the wall.".