25 



long, thiok-bodied, short-legged, inert looking animal, but in relation to it* sab* 

 terranean mode of life, its structure is most admirably adapted, and it is said 

 that the mole has, in proportion to its size, more muscular power than any other 

 quadruped, and so far from being an inert animal it ia exceedingly active and fierce, 

 and frequently engages in mortal combat with its companions of the same sex. 



The cylindrical form of the mole must strike everyone as most smtable to aa 

 animal moving through earth, and in passing the hand over the body of a Mole, 

 no projecting angles can be felt which would be Ukely to impede progress. 



The fur with which the body of the mole is cevered is very silky, and the set 

 is such that the fur lies smoothly in almost every direction ; this is one reason 

 why the fur of the Mole is always found free from soiL 



The fore feet and arms of the Mole are very well worthattention. The whole 

 apparatus connected with the fore limbs is very strong and muscular. The 

 shoulder blades are long, and give a large surface of attachment for the muscles, 

 and the bones •f the arm, and especially of the fore-arm, are very thick and 

 bowed, and the extensor muscles of the arm, and the flexors of the fingers 

 are very strong. The toes are connected together, and the claws are long and 

 strong, and the soles of the fore feet are turned backwards, like the palms 

 of the hands of a swimmer ; indeed the whole motion of the Mole through the 

 ground may be compared to that of a swimmer, but in a very much denser 

 medium than water. 



The teeth of the mole are sharp and pointed, and the back teeth or molars 

 have tubercles ; the incisors or front teeth are six in the upper and eight in the 

 lower jaw ; sometimes, however, only six in the lower jaw. The back teeth 

 or molars are eight in number in the upper jaw on each side, and seven in the 

 lower, making altogether 44 teeth. The food of the mole consists of insects and 

 worms. 



Moles, like most other animals, have five senses, namely, those of hearing, 

 seeing, smelling, tasting, and touching, but of these the sense of hearing is very 

 acute, and the sense of sight very duU. It is remarkable that the sense of hear- 

 ing should be so good, as moles have no external ears. 



It is a mistake to think they have no eyes, but one easily made upon a 

 superficial examination of the animal, for the eyes are so small and so deeply hid- 

 den in the fnr that it requires considerable search to find them, and the sight 

 must necessarily be very imperfect ; but for subterranean animals sight is, of 

 course, a superfluous sense as there is no light. The sense of touch is very 

 highly developed, and resides chiefly in the prolonged snout of the mole. It is 

 supposed also that the sense of smell is well developed, and to judge from the 

 voracious appetite of the animal that of taste also. 



It would be an incomplete notice of the mole if I did not make some men- 

 tion of the subterranean dwelling in which this animal lives, and this subject in- 

 deed possesses a peculiar interest to many members of this society, as it bears 

 very directly upon a well-known theory advanced by one of our most eminent 

 members to account for the mode of growth of certain fungi. 



