There is also considerable individual variation in color, not cor- 

 related with any other evident characteristic, or with peculiarities of 

 habitat, so far as I have been able to make out. The fur, except on 

 the snout and extremities, is dense, fine, and silky, with but very little 

 slope, so that it offers little resistance to rubbing' in any direction. 

 The hairs on the back attain a length of i cm. (.39 inch) or more, 

 becoming shorter on the under parts. 



The general color corresponds to that called ''hair-brown'' in 

 Ridgway's nomenclature. This is sometimes grayish, sometimes 

 warmed to bister or sepia, and is always obscured by a shifting, 

 sheeny luster. Closer examination shows that the basal four-fifths 

 of each hair is kinky, and is plumbeous in color, while the distal fifth 

 is straight and bent at an angle to the general tlirection of the main 

 portion. The direction of this tip constitutes the greater part of 

 whatever slope there is to the hair. Under a low power of micro- 

 scope it will be found that the hairs are flattened, and that the color 

 of the basal portion is due to alternate black and translucent bands, 

 while the apex is broader, lanceolate in shape, and contains a core of 

 brownish-orange coloring matter. The chin, throat, upper surface 

 of fore paws, and wrists are much lighter, and often suffused with 

 shades vaiying from ochraceous to ferruginous, or even, in spots, to 

 a decided orange. The tail is whitish at base, nearly naked and pink- 

 ish at the tip, as is also the tip of. the snout and the toes. Specimens 

 taken in spring often show patches of new fur replacing the old, and 

 the fur in these patches is shorter and darker than the old fur. The 

 snout is prolonged about 8 mm. beyond the lower jaw. It is flattened 

 and deeply grooved below, and is naked and truncate at the apex at an 

 angle of 45 degrees. This truncated surface looks upwards and con- 

 tains the nostrils. At the tip is a hard nail-like body. The upper lip 

 is split and represented by two thin folds in front. The long snout 

 of the mole is very flexible, and is in constant motion when the ani- 

 mal is in action. It is abundantly supplied with nerves and terminal 

 sense organs. The sense of smell and the sense of touch in the snout 

 must be, for the mole, the chief means of an acquaintance with the 

 outside world. 



The fore limbs are concealed to the wrist under the skin. The 

 fore paws are enormously developed. The toes, five in number, are 

 webbed their whole length, making the entire length of the palm 

 15 to 20 mm. (.6 to .8 in.). The width is still greater, being 20 to 



