Calpa ; or, |][cmarhs on i\n Jaliits oi 



By C. I. TRUSTED. 



Bead December Gth^ 1888. 



"Genus Talpa.— Mole. Back covered with hair, furnished with a 

 tail. Incisors in the upper jaw, six ; in the lower, eight. No external 

 ears. The sternum is furnished with a mesial crest. Fore feet broad 

 aud formed for digging. 



" Talpa Europcea. — The fur of this well-known animal is usually black, 

 but it is occasionally found in all the intermediate stages to yellowish 

 white." 



THE above is the concise description of this little 

 creature given by Fleming in his " History of British 

 Animals," to which I may add : The anterior members very 

 short and strong, and large hands, turned outwards in such 

 a manner as to permit the animal to throw the soil to the 

 surface on right and left. The head succeeds the body 

 without attenuation, thus being almost cylindrical. The 

 nose is used for boring in the earth. The body is covered 

 with fine, silky, short black hair. The eyes are hidden ; 

 they are small and black, and can be retracted and exserted 

 at will, and they are said to protrude themselves when the 

 Mole is in the water. The sense of hearing in the Mole 



