426 THE MOLES FUR. 
its body is very wonderfully constructed. As its chief employment consists in digging, 
the entire strength of the animal seems to be concentrated in the fore-quarters, where the 
bones and muscles ave developed to a marvellous extent. If the Mole be stripped of its 
skin, the muscles of the fore-limbs will be found to be so powerful that they roll between 
the fingers, hard, slippery, and almost incompressible. These enormous muscles give power 
and motion to the very efficient digeing apparatus with which the Mole is endowed. 
The fore-paws are extremely large, and furnished with strong and flattened nails. They 
ave turned rather obliquely, as seen in the figure on p, 423, in order to give free scope to 
their exertions. The bones of the fore-arm are of very great thickness, and bowed in that 
peculiar manner which always indicates enormous strength in the possessor, But the 
most striking and curious peculiarity in the structure of the Mole is the singularly long 
shoulder-blade, which, by its great leneth and strength, affords attachment to the 
powerful muscles which alone could give the requisite force to the broad, spade-like paws. 
The paws are devoid of the soft fur that shields the rest of the body, and are covered with 
a thick but naked skin. It is chiefly to these paws that any mould is found adherent 
when the Mole is captured, for the soft and velvet-like fur permits no earthy stain to defile 
its glossy smoothness. 
The Mole’s fur is remarkably fine in its texture, and is affixed to the skin in such a 
manner that it has no particular “grain,” and lies smoothly in every direction. Were it 
not for this peculiarity, the Mole would find great difficulty in proceeding along its 
galleries with the necessary celerity. The skin of the Mole is remarkably tough and 
thick, and is often used by the peasantry for the purpose of making purses. The process 
of manufacture is simple enough, consisting merely in cutting the animal across, just 
behind the shoulders, stripping the skin from the hinder portions, drying it carefully, and 
closing it by means of a string run round the edge. 
The Mole is said to be an excellent swimmer, and to be able to cross rivers, when led 
to such an act by any adequately powerful motive. How far true this assertion may be, 
I cannot prove by personal experience ; but I think that it is likely to be possible, for I 
have seen a Mole swim across the bend of a brook—a distance of some few yards—and 
perform its natatory achievement with great ease. Iwas not near enough to ascertain the 
mode of its progression, but it seemed to use its fore-paws as the principal instruments of 
locomotion. This circumstance took place in Wiltshire. 
From all accounts, the Mole seems to be a thirsty animal, and to stand in constant 
need of water, drinking every few hours in the course of the day. In order to supply 
this want it is in the habit of sinking well-like pits in different parts of its “runs,” so 
that it may never be without the means of quenching its thirst. Everything that the 
Mole does is marked with that air of desperate energy which is so characteristic of the 
animal. The labourers in different parts of England all unite in the same story, that the 
Mole works for three hours “like a horse,” and then rests for three hours, labourig and 
resting alternately through the day, and with admirable perception of time. 
The well-known “mole-hills” which stud certain lands, and which disfigure them so 
sadly, however much their unsightliness may be compensated by their real usefulness, are 
of various kinds, according to the sex and age of the miner. The small hillocks which 
follow each other in rapid succession are generally made by the female Mole before she 
has produced her little family, and when she is not able to undergo the great labour of 
digging in the harder soil. Sometimes the “run” is so shallow as to permit the superin- 
cumbent earth to fall in, so that the course which the Mole has followed is little more than 
a trench. This is said to be produced by the little coquetries that take place between the 
Mole and its future mate, when the one flies in simulated terror, and the other follows 
with undisguised determination. Deeper in the soil is often found a very large burrow, 
sufficiently wide to permit two Moles to pass each other. This is one of the high-roads 
which lead from one feeding-ground to another, and from which the different shafts radiate. 
But the finest efforts of talpine architecture are to be found in the central fortress, 
from which the various roads diverge, and the nest which the maternal Mole forms for 
the security of her young. 
The fortress is of a very peculiar construction, and is calculated to permit the ingress 
