166 F. A. HANAWALT Vol. XXII, No. 6 



eat freely of apples, apple being taken by some moles very 

 shortly after they had been captured. None ever ate sweet 

 potatoes or parsnips. One ate only sparingly of carrots. 

 The study of marks upon partially eaten Irish potatoes has 

 led some to say that moles could not have made them, but 

 that they were made by mice. My observations of captive 

 moles show that marks resembling tooth marks of mice are 

 made by moles, both by the teeth and the claws of the front 

 feet. 



Moles in captivity will eat soaked corn readily and will 

 live for several days upon this diet alone. When this diet has 

 been supplemented with apples and earthworms three or four 

 times a week I have succeeded in keeping moles alive for as 

 long as forty-one days. Soaked wheat and oats are not as 

 readily eaten as is soaked corn. It seems that when a mole 

 burrows unerringly along a corn row, he not only follows the 

 line of least resistance through the soil, provided by the mark 

 of the planter shoe, but he also eats some of the corn along with 

 other food found. Whether the corn is eaten or not, the 

 young plants usually die from having their root systems torn 

 to pieces. 



Moles will usually take meat when captive, eating lean 

 beef, fish, fresh or salted pork, mice, frogs, and even small 

 snakes. They have no trouble in disposing of live mice such 

 as Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord) this fact making the theory 

 that potato tubers are eaten by mice that follow along the 

 runways of moles very untenable. In eating furry animals 

 the mole discards most of the hair and skin, also some of the 

 larger bones. The hind feet and strips of skin are all that are 

 usually left after a meal upon a meadow mouse. 



The mole does not ordinarily drink. I observed only one 

 captive mole drink, taking water by lapping. In dry summer 

 months moles may be found far from water and in such situation 

 must depend upon the water found in their food. It would be 

 of interest to observe moles in dry weather when earth worms 

 are scarce or excessively deep, to see if it is then that depreda- 

 tions in potato patches occur. Observations upon captive 

 specimens indicate that plant roots and tubers are eaten chiefly 

 to satisfy thirst. 



Curiously enough, no reference is made by most authors to 

 the swimming habits of moles. Some state that the mole can 



