MAMMALIA. 423 



found in any part of Ireland. It has no exteiMial ears, and 

 the eyes are so extremely minute that in popular languapje 

 it is always spoken of as " blind. '">'= The broad forefeet witli 

 the palms turned outwards, and so admirably adapted for dig- 

 ging. are the most striking characteristic. The food consists 

 of insects and worms, though vegetable matters ai'e occasion- 

 ally found in the stomach, because Moles gnaw the roots of 

 plauts for the pui'pose of extracting larva? and worms. Thoy 

 do not become dormant during the winter, so that the necessity 

 of exertion to obtain the needful supply of food is continual 



Kig. 333. Mole. 



To the superficial obseiTcr, the Mole — " blind, awkward, 

 and shapeless," condemned to a life of toil in subterranean 

 dai'kness — is an object of pity. To the naturalist it affords 

 another proof " of the wisdom and beneficence of the Creator, 

 which can render a life so apparently incompatible with 

 comfort, in reality one of almost incessant enjoyment." 



"Its feeding and its habitation, its wanderings and its re- 

 pose, its winter retreat, and the nest in which its young are 

 brought forth and nom-ished, are all so many calls for the 

 most laborious and enduring toil; but on the other hand, that 

 toil is so amply provided for in the whole structure of the ani- 

 mal, so exactly balanced by the strength and conformation of 

 its limbs, that it cannot be considered as exceeding the health- 

 ful, and even pleasurable, exercise of its natural powers." 



The words we have just quoted are those of Professor 

 Bell. We use them because we would wish to introduce to 

 the reader the complete and interesting exposition of the 

 habits and economy of the I\Iole, given by that eminent 

 zoologist, in his Histoiy of British Quadrupeds : from that 

 work, by the k"nd ])crmission of its author, our representa- 

 tion of tlie animal has been copied. 



* There is another species, T.cceca, in which the eyelids arc closed; 

 both are inhahitauts ot Europe. 



