wenger THE MOLE 273 



terranean life, as the moles and shrews; or else by living in some 

 far removed corner of the world where they have not yet been 

 obliviated by their more intelligent enemies and rivals. It is 

 still an undecided question whether the members of this order 

 may not be descended from several primitive stocks, since they 

 show such puzzling resemblances to other animals, like bats and 

 lemurs, that it is difficult to correctly classify them. 



We find members of this order in all parts of the world except 

 Australia and South .America. 



The Family Talpidae (Moles) includes 12 species, the individuals 

 of which are larger than the Shrews. 



We shall give most of our attention to the common mole of 

 North America. This little mammal measures about 6-^2" in 

 length. Its shape reminds one of a pointed, rounded wedge. 

 The small pointed head unites directly with the thick body; 

 the broad six-fingered "hands" of the forelimbs are furnished with 

 spade-like claws and connected by strong armbones with the very 

 strong ribs and collarbones; and the hind legs remind one of the 

 legs of a mouse. The snout is long and pointed and the nose 

 projects about half an inch beyond the mouth, ending in a 

 hard, broad, flattened point. The mouth holds forty small, 

 sharp teeth. External ears are lacking and the rudimentary eyes 

 are small dark specks under the skin, the eyeball being but the 

 size of a pinhead, only serving to distinguish between light and 

 darkness. The posterior end of the body terminates in a short, 

 naked, pinkish-white tail, which resembles an angleworm. Its 

 beautiful soft, thick fur, a glossy, silvery gray, tinged with brown, 

 varying in shade according to the light, lies equally well backward 

 or forward. 



In the western hemisphere this species is found only in North 

 America, from southern Canada to the lowlands of Florida, but 

 does not occupy any part of the arid region, including the Great 

 Basin. 



Anyone who possesses a garden or lawn, or is familiar with dry 

 meadow land, (the most common habitat of the mole), must 

 surely be acquainted with the tunnels of earth disclosing in an 

 instant the highways and byways of this creature, and unless he 

 has studied the habits of these animals of the ground, has very 

 likely held an antagonistic feeling toward the little intruder, be- 

 cause without doubt the building of these passageways so near the 



