340 THE MOLE. 



The cause of this curious combat was probably at no great distance, in the shape of a 

 female Mole, for whose favor the two animals were so fiercely fighting. The Mole pursues its 

 intended mate with extraordinary zeal and perseverance ; and as the number of males is con- 

 siderably greater than that of females, it seldom happens that a Mole succeeds in winning his 

 bride until he has gained her in battle. So furious are all the passions of the Mole, that we 

 may think ourselves fortunate that the creature is so small ; for if it were as large as a tiger 

 it would be by far the more formidable animal. 



Even with its limited capability, it has more than once proved itself a dangerous creature ; 

 for on one occasion, a Mole that had been made prisoner turned fiercely on its captor, and 

 fixed its teeth into his hand with such pertinacious courage that it would not loosen its hold 

 until it had been squeezed nearly to death between the teeth of its antagonist, who was 

 obliged to have resort to that unpleasant mode of defence in order to free himself from the 

 infuriated little animal. Another of these creatures flung itself upon a young lady's neck, and 

 inflicted a severe wound before its purpose could be comprehended or its movements arrested. 



With the exception of sight, the senses of the Mole seem to be remarkably developed. 



The sense of scent is singularly acute, and enables the animal to discover the presence of 

 the earthworms on which it feeds, and to chase them successfully through their subterranean 

 meanderings, a kind of terrestrial otter. So acute is the sense of smell, that the experiencd 

 Mole-catchers are in the habit of keeping a dead Mole at hand when they are engaged in their 

 destructive avocation ; and after setting their traps, draw the dead Mole over every part of 

 the trap or adjoining soil which their hands have touched, so as to overpower the taint of 

 human contact. This Is an effectual precaution, as the Mole is endowed with a powerf ul, very 

 peculiar, and very unpleasant scent, that adheres pertinaciously to the hand, and cannot be 

 entirely removed without repeated lavation. 



The hearing of the Mole is proverbially excellent ; and it is probable that the animal is 

 aided in its pursuit of worms by the sense of hearing as well as that of smell. Much of the 

 Mole's safety is probably owing to its exquisite hearing, which gives it timely notice of the 

 approach of any living being, and enables it to secure itself by rapidly sinking below the sur- 

 face of the earth. To tread so softly that the blind Mole may not hear a footfall, is an expres- 

 sion which has become a household word. 



The sense of touch is peculiarly delicate, and seems to be chiefly resident in the long and 

 flexible nose, which is employed by the Mole for other purposes than those of scent. When 

 the creature is placed upon the surface of the ground, and is about to sink one of its far- 

 famed tunnels, it employs its nose for that purpose almost as effectually as its armed fore-paws. 

 I have often seen the animal engaged in the process of sinking a pit, and have observed that it 

 always begins by running about very rapidly, wriggling its snout backwards and forwards upon 

 the ground, as if to discover a soft spot. When it has fixed upon a suitable locality, it begins 

 its excavation by rooting in the ground with its nose, and making a shallow groove in the earth 

 by way of a commencement. Not until it has formed this preliminary trench does it bring its 

 digging claws into action ; and even while employing its natural spades in the actual digging 

 and casting up of loose earth, it still makes use of its nose as a pioneer, so to speak, and seems 

 to learn, by means of the delicate sense of touch with which that organ is gifted, the nature of 

 the soil through which the animal intends to make its way. 



It seldom happens that all the senses of an animal are developed to an equal extent, so 

 that where one or two are singularly acute it is generally at the expense of the others. Such 

 is the case with the Mole ; for although the scent, touch, and hearing are remarkable for their 

 excellence, the sight is so extremely defective that it may almost be considered as a nullity. 



It is true that the Mole possesses eyes ; but those organs of vision are so small, and so 

 deeply hidden in the fur, that they can be but of little use to their owner, except to mark the 

 distinctions between light and darkness. The eyes are so exceedingly small that .their very 

 existence has been denied, and it is only by a careful search that they can be seen at all. 



The simplest mode of observing the Mole's eyes in perfection is to immerse the living ani- 

 mal in water. It fancies that it is in danger of drowning, and therefore exerts its power of 

 protruding the eyes from the furry coat, in order to employ every means for escaping from the 



