Manchester Memoirs, Vol. xlvii. (1903). ^°- 4- 29 



and dead moles slit open, with invariably the same results. 

 The entire moles were always dragged about, in the 

 evident endeavour to feed upon them, but invariably the 

 thick tough coat was proof against the hedgehog's incisors, 

 while the slit moles were invariably eaten up and the 

 skin empty and clean and turned inside out. 



I do not think rooks prey on moles as a rule (though 

 crows may do so), for I have noticed that opposite to an 

 extensive rookery near Stafford trapped moles are often 

 hung up on a hedge, but never seem to disappear. The 

 larger hawks may account for a few moles when they 

 come above ground for water on summer evenings, or 

 when they emerge in search of grass and leaves to make 

 their nests, but these occasions must be rare and incidental. 



Can the Mole See? 



Geoffroy Saint- Hilaire, who, with the assistance of 

 others, examined carefully the pole's eye, gives his 

 opinion {op. cit., lecon 16, p. 26) that, owing to the extreme 

 convexity of the crystalline lens, the animal is short- 

 sighted. He also comes to the conclusion {le^on 16, p. 37) 

 that the mole " has very good sight " (doubtless meaning 

 as far as the sight reaches). He also makes the state- 

 ment {lecon 16, p. 27) that "the eye of the mole is more 

 developed in the foetus than in the adult," which is very 

 interesting, if true, as it points to the conclusion that the 

 sight of the animal is deteriorating through disuse. Saint- 

 Hilaire describes the following experiment performed by 

 Le Court to demonstrate the mole's power of sight 

 {lecon 16, p. 8). Several moles were introduced one after 

 another into one end of an empty drain pipe. Le Court 

 waited at the other end, and as long as he kept still the 

 moles ran out, but " a single movement of his thumb was 

 enough to check the mole ; it reached the edge of the 



