342 JAMES ROLLIN SLONAKER 
The mole is neither strictly nocturnal nor diurnal in its 
habits. Scheffer (13) pressed down the runways and observed 
when they were repaired. He found that 135 repairs were 
made during the night and 116 during the day. Of a number 
of repairs made in the day time 109 were in the morning and 89 
in the afternoon. He made more detailed observations and found 
the time and number of repairs made during the twenty-four 
hours as follows: 9 to 10 p.m., 15; 3 to 4 a.m., 16; 9 to 10 a.m., 9 
1 to 2 p.m., 11; 5 to 6 p.m., 8. From this one must infer that, 
while some rhythm in the activity is noted, it is not sufficiently 
pronounced to say that the mole has any definite time for activity 
and rest. The frequent periods of activity are no doubt due to 
the feeding habits of the animal. Carpenter (’57) speaks of the 
rapacious appetite of the mole which must be frequently satis- 
fied. If its appetite is not satisfied, its hunger amounts to rage. - 
The purpose of the burrows is to secure food. New burrows 
are made when the food supply has been depleted in the old run- 
ways. The manner in which the mole feeds is described by 
Allen (12). He fed a number of earthworms to a mole in cap- 
tivity and noted that it used the backs of its hands to assist in 
the feeding process. It ate about a dozen worms before it was 
satisfied. I have observed that in the process of feeding the fore 
feet not only assist in carrying the food to the mouth, as above 
described, but are used also in stripping the worms. ‘This is done 
by pulling the worm between the feet and especially between the 
claws by a backward movement of the head. This results in 
forcing out most of the contents of the alimentary canal leaving 
the worm comparatively free from earthy material. While 
eating the head was in almost continual motion. I infer that 
this was done to enable the tactile hairs of the snout to function 
over a wider field. The drinking process Allen describes as 
being similar to ‘sponging out a boat.’ 
In order to determine the diet of the mole, ene (03) exam- 
ined the stomach contents of sixty-seven individuals of Scalops 
aquaticus taken during all the months of the year excepting De- 
cember and February. He found that earthworms composed 
one-half or more of the diet, depending on the conditions of 
