BIOLOGICAL PAPERS. 183 



FOOD HABITS OF THE COMMON GARDEN MOLE. 



{SeaJops aquatlcus Diachrintis Rafinesque.) 



By L. L. Dychb, University of Kansas, Lawrence. 

 Read before the Academy, at Topeka, January 2, 1903. 



/COMMENCING with January, 1894, I have examined the stomachs 

 ^^ of sixty-seven common garden moles of the above species. No 

 specimens were taken during the months of December and February. 

 The other months are represented by from two to a dozen speci- 

 mens each. The moles were taken for the most part either on the 

 University campus, which is rather high ground, or in the yard around 

 my house, on rather low ground. No effort was made to take any par- 

 ticular number at any particular time or season. July, August and 

 September have but two representatives each, while October and No- 

 vember are represented by about a dozen specimens each. Most of 

 the animals were caught by using the mole traps which are sold in 

 the markets — the kinds that work by the use of a coiled spring, which, 

 when set off, drives a number of sharp spikes down into the ground 

 and through the mole. 



Out of the sixty-seven specimens taken, seventeen of the stomachs 

 contained nothing, or only a trace of food. Fifty stomachs contained 

 more or less food, many of them being well filled. To determine the 

 nature and quantity of the food in the stomachs it was necessary to 

 place the contents in a dish of water. After gentle washing the mass 

 was placed on paper or a thin cloth seive, and the water allowed to 

 filter away or be absorbed. The food matter was then examined with 

 a hand or a low-power compound microscope. The different kinds 

 of materials were pushed together and examined to determine the 

 kind and relative quantity of food. One difficulty an observer has to 

 contend with is the fact that the mole frequently chews its food very 

 fine. Earthworms are easily made out, owing to the skins, which are 

 tough. They hold together well and are easily recognized. While 

 the skins of the grubs and the various kinds of larvae are rather tough, 

 and, as a rule, show the general shape of the animals, the head-parts, on 

 the other hand, are comparatively hard, and the fine teeth of the mole 

 crush them so much that they are hard to recognize. No attempt 

 has been made to distinguish species, though the grubs of the June 

 beetles {LacJmo sterna) were frequently recognized. Coleopterous 

 beetles could be made out quite satisfactorily, provided one had the 

 time and patience to work the material over. Almost all of the beetles 



