THE CANADIAN SP011TSMAN AND NATUIIALI-I. 



283 



ON THE MOLE, 



Dear Sir, — I herewith send you some ob- 

 servations on the mole leaving you to add the 

 scientific names to the little animals mentioned 

 further on. 



I believe that very few. people know how 

 voracious the common meadow mole is. I 

 have read stories told by Indians about the 

 Carcajou, or Wolverine killing and eating two 

 moose in a single night, but my doubt have 

 been almost dispelled by witnessing the glut- 

 tony of this little creature. 



One da} last week two White-bellied or 

 Wood Mice were caught in a trap ; I cannot 

 say whether the mole or the mice were caught 

 first but in the evening one living mole was 

 found in the trap, and two full grown Wood 

 mice, dead, one of the latter being about half 

 eaten. The evening of that same day, the 

 mole was placed in an old laundry boiler and 

 the entire dead mouse given to it, which by 

 morning was entirely eaten bones and all ex 

 cept the hair. We then gave the mole a large 

 rat just killed, when it at once proceeded to 

 eat out its eyes, and by 4 o'clock next after- 

 noon one side df the rat's head, bone, together 

 with the brains, were eaten, and strange to 

 say the mole looked no larger. 



The Indians of Hudson Bay say that the 

 Carcajou, after eating one moose, squeezes 

 himself between two trees, which process 

 packs what he has devoured and makes room 

 for moose No. 2 ; be that as it may, our mole 

 had no chance for any such cheating, but. did 

 all by fair eating. Our curiosity was aroused to 

 know by what means a mole or shrew could 

 kill mice which were larger that itself; so 

 four large meadow mice being procured, they 

 were placed in the boiler with the mole, which 

 as soon as it met a mouse, showed fight, but 

 the mouse knocked it away with its front feet 

 and leaped as far away as it could. The mole 

 from the first seemed not to see very plainly 

 and started around the boiler at a lively rate 

 reaching and scenting in all directions with 

 its long nose like a pig that has broken into a 

 back yard and smells the swill barrel. The 

 mice seemed terror stricken momentarily rising 

 on tneir hind legs, looking for some place to 

 escape leaping about squeaking in their efforts 

 to keep out of the way of the mole which 

 pursued them constantly. The mole's mode of 

 attack was to seize the mouse in the region of 

 the throat. This it did by turning its head as 

 it sprang at the mouse, at the same time utter- 



ing a chattering sound. The mice would 

 strike at, and usually knocktthe mule away 

 with their fronl Peel bul if the latter gol a hold 

 of a mouse, it would (hen try to bite, and they 

 would both tumble about like doge it a fight 

 The little chap at last attacked\)ne mouse and 

 kept with it, and in about ten minute- had it 

 killed; bul even before it was dead the mole 

 commenced eating its eyes and face. About 

 ten minutes later the mole had devoured all 

 the head of the mouse and continued to eat. 

 I have captured and caged several moles this 

 winter and they all display the same untiring 

 greedy nature. According to my observations 

 the little mammal under consideration eats 

 about twice or three times its own weight ol 

 food every 24 hours and when we consider 

 that their principal food consist of insects, it 

 is quite bewildering to imagine the myriads 

 one must destroy in a year. I think they are 

 quite likely to kill hundreds of insects more 

 then they need to eat, amongst which there 

 may be many of our greatest pests, yet 

 many people destroy moles and bats at even- 

 opportunity, both of which may be numbered 

 amongst our most beneficial and harmless 

 creatures. I would here like to mention that 

 I think whoever kills a toad is doing wrong as 

 they also live upon insects. I once saw a 

 dead one that a waggon wheel had crushed, 

 and to all appearence its stomach must have 

 contained at that time about a score ot potato 

 beetles besides other insects. 



John A. Mordbn. 

 Hyde Park, Ont., 8 Dec. 1883. 



NESTING OF THE COMMON RAIL 

 (Porzana Carolina), Niell. 



Assuming that so'^e account of the nesting, 

 and other habits of this bird may be interesting 

 to your readers, I send you a tew remarks 

 in regard to my experience during the past 

 season. Excepting stuffed specimens seen iu 

 different collections, I had never noticed one 

 of them iu our part of the country, until 

 the evening of the last of July of the present 

 year. In the evening while returning from my 

 farm — Wild/wood — which lies on the north- 

 west of this corporation, I got a glimpse ot a 

 strange bird running along the edge of a pond. 

 The farm is near the line, which is a continu- 

 ation of the Main Street of this town and ad- 

 jacent are a number of small ponds formed 

 bv excavating clay for brick-making. Some 



