150 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



dreary habitation, Mr. Bell justly shews that its manners and habits 

 being expressly adapted for a subterranean existence, it enjoys as 

 much happiness in the under ground tunnels it has constructed as 

 any animal sporting in the glare of day, and doubtless subject to 

 much less molestation. 



** The one prominent circumstance which strikes us on looking either at 

 the habits or structure of the Mole, is, that labour — almost incessant la- 

 bour — is its necessary doom. Its feeding and its habitation, its wanderings 

 and its repose, its winter retreat, and the nest in which its young are brought 

 forth and nourished, are all so many calls for the most laborious and enduring 

 toil : but, on the other hand, that toil is so amply provided for in the whole 

 structure of the animal — so exactly balanced by the strength and conforma- 

 tion of its limbs, that it cannot be considered as exceeding the healthful and 

 even pleasurable exercise of its natural powers." 



The existence of the organ of vision in the " blind Mole" has 

 been frequently a subject of dispute with physiologists, especially 

 from the confident assertion of Aristotle and other naturalists, that 

 it was totally sightless, while our Mole, at any rate, was found to 

 have open eye-lids, which seemed to argue that some little light 

 might be occasionally conveyed to his optic nerve. But it now ap- 

 pears that another species of Mole, with the eye-lids totally closed* 

 is common in the south of Europe, and this kind Mr. Bell thinks 

 was the one examined by Aristotle. Although, however, the organ 

 of vision in the Mole appears in its most diminished form, it appears 

 that his hearing is very good, although devoid of any external 

 conch ; but it must be confessed the amusing experiment recorded 

 to prove this might be considered sufficient to rouse the dead, to say 

 nothing of startling our little velvet-coated friend. We shall ex- 

 tract it as given by Mr. Bell, first premising that the Mole has 

 always a regular "high road" extending from his ** fortress," or do- 

 micile, to the extremity of his property ; for it appears that each 

 Mole is lord of a little manor of his own, where the game is strictly 

 preserved, and no trespassers allowed to sport. From this " high 

 road" lateral alleys diverge to the " hunting grounds," and mole- 

 hills are principally thrown up above these alleys, marking the 

 sporting excursions of the Mole. As the Mole always goes from 

 and returns to his habitation by the high road, mole-catchers are 

 obliged to ascertain its direction before they can intercept him by 

 their traps placed in its course. 



" The swiftness with which the Mole will traverse its domain by means of 

 this principal road, was made the subject of an amusing and satisfactory ex- 

 periment by Le Court, [a Frenchman, who devoted his entire attention to 

 the extermination of Moles]. Having ascertained the exact direction of the 

 road, and finding that the Mole was engaged in exploring for its food the 

 ground at the farthest extremity from the fortress, he placed along its course, 

 at certain distances, several pieces of straw, one extremity of which pene- 

 trated within the passage, and to the other end was fixed a little flag of pa- 



* Talpa cceca, not yet discovered in Britain. 



