88 COMMON BKITISH ANIMALS 



from the roots of your plants, which consequently 

 flag and die. 



For its size the mole has immense power in the 

 muscles of its forelegs, the bones of which are short 

 and broad. The shoulder girdle, too, is very strong, 

 and the collar bones aiford firm surfaces for the 

 attachment of the limbs. If possible, the skeleton 

 of a mole should be studied, for no animal in its 



Fig. 30. — The Mole {Talpa europa^a). (Photo, from life by 

 H. C. Wood.) 



structure exhibits to a greater degree special adapta- 

 tion to its mode of life. The mole needs great 

 vitality to enable it to get through the work it does. 

 To this end it consumes an enormous amount of food 

 in proportion to its size, and but a brief enforced 

 abstinence will cause death. For this reason moles 

 are extremely difficult to keep in captivity. A full 

 grown mole requires quite its own weight of food, if 

 not more, per day. The diet consists of earthworms, 



