OBSERVATIONS ON TUt MOLE. i233 
^nole appears to be by no means tenacious of life, differ-^ 
ing greatly, in this respect, from the class of reptiles^ A 
mole is not easily kept alive in a state of confinement ; it 
soon perishes, unless it can be constantly supplied with 
fresh damp mould in which to conceal itself. It is sur- 
prising how rapidly it will effectuate this, even on a soil 
that is tolerably firm. In a grass-field or plot, where the 
soil is light, a mole will hide itself almost in a moment ; 
and they have been known to penetrate, and completely 
cover themselves in, a hard turnpike-road in the space of 
five minutes. 
The following very curious and interesting statement 
concerning two that were taken alive, has been obligingly 
communicated to me by Mr Staiik, a member of our 
Society, 
" About four years ago,'' says this gentleman, " one 
jfnorning early in summer, I caught a mole, which was 
running on the ground before me, for the purpose of 
shewing it alive to the children. On carrying it home in 
a botanical box, I put it into a large flower-pot full of 
moist earth in the greenhouse. It made its way instantly 
under the soil, and I placed a thick board over the surface 
of the pot, to prevent its escape. On returning, however, 
a short time thereafter, the board was overturned, and the 
mole had guttered the earthen floor of the greenhouse in 
many places, and was hard at work in a corner, where the 
earth was less consohdated. It was now replaced in the 
flower-pot, and another of nearly the same size inverted 
over it, which proved a sufficient barrier. Meantime one 
of the children had dug up a few worms, and the covering 
was remov^ed, to see if the mole would eat them. It re- 
piained below. One or two of the worms were then drop- 
