INSECTIVORA 91 



year we have several times noticed the movements 

 of moles raising their mounds, and on each occasion 

 have noted the time by a watch and found it to be 

 a little after 11, or shortly before 3 p.m., and a 

 gardener tells us that 7 a.m. is invariably the time at 

 which traps are sprung. 



Mr. Runciman has described the mole's method of 

 eating a worm : 



" Now the worm, as everybody knows, is filled 

 from snout to tail with earth. One can reasonably 

 conceive that the earth to the mole is unpalatable 

 and indigestible. And so it is more than likely that 

 though he crams worms into his mouth, he does so 

 with the set purpose of getting rid of the earth within 

 the worms. 



'^ Whether the action shows intelligence or instinct, 

 it is of peculiar interest and certainly more pleasant 

 to contemplate than the cramming theory. Having 

 caught, his worm this is how the mole preceeds : 

 First he seizes it by the tail, off which he bites a 

 small piece, then he turns the worm round. This is 

 accomplished with his paws, the sides of which, 

 while their palms extend towards the front, grip the 

 worm firmly. Then the mole, having turned the 

 worm, draws it into his mouth with a series of short, 

 quick jerks, at the some time moving his paws slightly 

 forward ; and the effect of this movement is to cause 

 the earth to squirt out at the tail end, the tip having 

 been cut off purposely to give the earth free vent. 

 Thus the mole secures a clean meal without any dis- 

 tasteful clay. Evidently he knows that the tail is 

 the proper part of the worm to bite off, and that he 



