MOLE FAMILY 



o*Jj 



one of their battles, is given by a passer-by who 

 happened to witness it : " Walking along a quiet 

 lane, I heard some very funny little squeaks 

 proceeding from the other side of the hedge. I 

 am perfectly used to all sorts of animal and 

 bird sounds, but had never heard the like of these 

 before. On getting cautiously over the hedge, 

 I found two Moles fighting in the ditch. I went 

 to within two yards of them, but they took not 

 the slightest notice of me, so intent were both 

 on their business. I at once looked at my watch. 

 They kept on, up and down, scratch and bite, 

 for seven minutes, when one turned the other 

 completely over on his back, and seized him by 

 the throat, which he cut as cleanly as if done 

 by a knife, thus finishing the fight. The way in 

 which they used their formidable front feet was 

 surprising." 



The Mole is one of the most voracious of all 

 animals. If it were the size of a Lion or Tiger 

 it would be by far the most terrible creature 

 that we could imagine, for its fierceness is pro- 

 verbial. Its insatiable appetite constantly de- 

 mands food. Mr. L. E. Adams says : " The 

 accounts of the short periods of starvation neces- 

 sary to kill a Mole are borne out by my obser- 

 vations. On one occasion I caught a vigorous 

 Mole, quite unhurt, and fed him at intervals 

 during the day with about a third of a pint of 

 worms, besides which he had several drinks of 

 water. .*\t night, about eight o'clock, I dug 

 about a third of a pint of worms, and put them 

 into his den (a packing case with earth at the 

 bottom) and left him. In the morning I found 

 him very feeble, thin and cold. I took him up 

 in my hand and put his nose to some water, 

 which he seemed to enjoy, but he was too feeble 

 to tackle a worm, and presently, after a gentle 

 convulsion, he died in my hand. I foimd on 

 dissecting him that the stomach was absolutely 

 empty, in spite of the fact that he had eaten 

 every worm left for him." 



That the Mole is a friend of the farmer is 

 shown by a test made by Mr. Fred E. Brooks 

 of the ^^'^est Virginia University Agricultural 

 Experiment .Station : " I kept one large Mole 

 in a box half filled with earth for thirty-three 

 ■ days. It vi'as fed dailv on earthworms, insects, 

 and flesh of other kinds, of which it ate a sur- 

 prising quantity. Several potatoes were kept in 

 the box during most of the period, but the Mole 

 did not once sample them. In the space of 

 twenty-four hours, this Mole ate fifty large 

 white grubs, one " chestnut worm," one wire 

 worm, one cicada nymph, forty-five larvae of 



" rose bugs," and thirteen earthworms. The 

 insects weighed forty-two grams and the earth- 

 worms twenty-four grams, making a total of 

 sixty-six grams. The Mole itself weighed fifty 

 grams, or about four-fifths as much as the food 

 taken. It should be mentioned here that it was 

 the custom of this Mole in eating earthworms 

 to take one end of the worm in its mouth and 

 then draw the body between its claws in such a 

 way as to force out all the earthy matter from 

 the digestive organs. The weight, therefore, 

 given for the earthworms, is likely a little too 

 great, as this discarded portion would have 

 weighed a few grams. However, after deducting 

 it from the quantity given, that remaining would 

 still weigh more than the Mole itself. Tlie Mole 

 had been well supplied with food up to the time 

 the test began, and I believe that the figures 

 represent a fair daily average of the food con- 

 sumed. If correct, a single Mole would eat in 

 the course of a year something like 40,000 insects 

 and worms, which would weigh over fifty 

 pounds. 



" Two days later I caught a Mole and confined 

 it in a box similar to the one in which the Mole 

 i\ist described was kept. The Mole was caught 

 by hand and was not injured in any way. Water, 

 but no food except potatoes, was given it. Early 

 on the following morning it died of starvation. 

 One of the potatoes was foimd to be slightly 

 scratched as bv the IMole's teeth or claws, but. 

 if any had been eaten, the amount was very 

 ■;mall. No trace of potato was found in the 

 stomach. Later, another Mole in captivity died 

 in a similar manner when given nothing but 

 potatoes." 



The results of these experiments agree with 

 what economic zoologists long ago found out, 

 that the accusations made against Moles of eat- 

 ing potatoes and other vegetables in the field, 

 are almost, or entirely, groundless. They also 

 agree with the account given by Adams, show- 

 ing the inability of Moles to undergo more than 

 a very brief period of starvation. 



This strange little beast seems adapted by 

 nature to the simplest and most mechanical of 

 functions. Its senses are rudimentary, that of 

 sight being almost entirely lacking. Its eyeball 

 is only about the size of a pinhead, and probably 

 all it can distinguish is strong light from dark- 

 ness. The changing seasons and all the bright 

 busy world above it pass unheeded, in its blind 

 patient search for food, and still more food. 



The Western, or Townsend's Mole is the larg- 

 est of the genus Scapaniis. being over eight and 



