T A L 2 



' The Hnallness of the eye* (which gave occasion to the 



antienU to deny it the sense of sight' i* to ti 



peculiar happiness ; a small degree of x iion is sufficient for 



an animal ever destined to live underground ; had these 



organs been larger, thcx would have been pel petually liable 



to injuries by tin- earth, fulling into them : but nature, to 



prevent that inconvenience, bath not only made them 



small, but also covered them v cry closely with fur. 



, mention besides these a third x en wonderful 



ity. and inform us that each eye 



is furnished with a certain 'muscle, by which the animal 

 has the power of withdrawing or exerting them, according 

 to its e\iir> 



To make amends for the dimness of its sight, the mole 

 is amply recompensed by the great perfection of txvo 

 other sense*, those of hearing and of smelling: the first 

 gives it notice of the most distant approach of danger : 

 the other, which is equally exquisite, directs it in the 

 midst of darkness to its food : the nose also, bein: 

 long and slender, is xvell formed for thrusting into small 

 holes in search of the xvorms and insects that inhabit 

 them. These gifts may \\ith reason be said to compensate 

 the d -ight, as they supply in this animal all its 

 wants and all the purposes of that sense. 



It is supposed that the verdant circles so often seen in 

 grass-grounds, called by country-people J'niry ring*, are 

 owing to the operations' of these animals, who, at certain 

 seasons perform their burrowing* by circumgyrations. 

 which, loosening the soil, give the surface a greater fertility 

 and rankness of grass than the other parts xvithin or with- 

 out the ring. 



The mole breeds in the spring, and brings four or five 

 young at a time : it makes its next of moss, and that 

 alxx-ays under the largest hillock, n little below the surface 

 of t lie ground. It is observed to he most a, -live, and to 



ip most earth, immediate!) before rain, and in the 

 winter before a thaw, because at those times the xvorms 

 and insects begin to bein motion anil approach tl 



- on the contrary, in very dry weather this animal 



'in or never forms any hillocks, as it penetrates deep 

 after its prey, which at such seasons retires far into the 

 ground. Dining summer it runs in search of snails and 

 worms in the night time among the grass, which makes it 

 the prey of owls. The mole shows great art in skinning a 

 worm, which it always does before it eats it : stripping the 

 skin from end to end, and squeezing out the contc 

 the body.' 



Thus "far Pennant : but the most diligent and instruc- 

 tive historian of the mole is Henri Lc Court, who, Hying 

 from the terrors that came in the train of the French 

 revolution, buried himself in the country, and. from tin 

 attendant on a court, became the biographer of this hum- 

 ble animal. The discoveries of this indefnliira: 

 have been laid before the public in the work of De \ an\ 

 (1803), and a summary of them by Geotf'roy St. Hilaire, in 

 the Cuiii-x tfHittoirt \<iturr//r '/<* MaaumflrM. The 

 latter visited Le Court for the purpose of testing his 



'vutioii*. and appears to have been charmed by tin 

 facility and ingenuity with which I.e Court traced am 

 demonstrated the subterranncan labours of this obscure 

 worker in the dark. 



One of the experiments which Le Court made affordec 

 ample proof of the rapidity with which the mole vvil 

 travel along its passages. He watched his opportunity 

 and xvhen the mole was out on its feed at one of the most 

 distant points from its sanctuary or fortress, to which poiiv 

 tin- mole's high road leads. I.e ( 'ourt placed along the coursi 

 of that road between the mole and the for! il little 



camp-colours, so to speak, the stall of each being a straw 

 and the flag a bit of paper, at certain distances, the straws 

 penetrating down into the passage. Near the end of tin 

 subterraneous road he inserted a horn, the mouth-piece o 

 which stood out of the ground. When all was ready. I.i 

 Court blew a blast loud enough to fright all the mole! 

 xvithin hearing from their propriety, and the little gentle 

 man in xelvet. whose p the spot he bad wel 



tuineil. was affected accordingly. Down went the 

 little flag* in succession with an astonishing ccle 

 the horrified mole, rushing along towards his sanctuary 

 cane in contact with the flag-straws; and such mettle hai 

 terror put into the animal's heels, that the spectators 



' Aat tnlii aifll (ajcn cubili* blip*.' Virj . Omrg. I., 183. 



T A L 



iflirmed that its swiftnass was equal to the speed of a 

 torse at a good round trot. 



This experiment xva* perfectly sa' tc the 



.uditory and travelling powers of tin- mole ; but another 

 nade bx I .'-d that I :it of 



is., .! possessed by the animal is an 

 wants, and that, with all the in; 



it warns it of danger. Le Court took a spare xvatcr- 

 >ipe or gutter open at both ends. Into this pipe he intro- 

 luced several in St. Hilaire 



stood by to watch the result, at the farther end of the tube. 

 As long as the i] the introduced 



mole made the best of bis way through the pipi 



1; but if they moved, or even raised a finger, the 



d then retreated. Siv.ral repetitions of 

 the experiment produced the -ame results. 



Hut we must describe the mole's domain. The principal 

 point is the habitation, or, as it has been termed, the for- 

 tress, and is constructed under a considerable hillock 

 raised in some secure place, oil en at the root of a tree. 

 under a bank, or any shelter that offers protection. The 

 fortress is domed by a cement, so to B] .rth xvhich 



has been beaten and compressed by the architect into a 

 compact and solid state. Within, a circular 

 formed at the base, and communicates with a smaller 

 upper gallery by means of five passages, which are nearly 

 at equal distances. Within the lower and under the 

 upper of these galleries is the chamber or dormitory, which 

 has access to the upper gallery by three similar pas- 

 Froin this habitation, xve should here observe, the high 

 road by which the proprietor reaches the opposite end of 

 the encampment extends, and the various galleries or ex- 

 cavations open into this road, xvhich the moje is continu- 

 ally earning out and extending in hs search for food, and 

 which has been termed its hunting-ground. But to 

 return to the chamber. From il another road ext 

 the direction of which is downward at first, and that for 

 several inches, xvhen it again rises to open into the high 

 road of the territory. Some eight or nine otln 

 open out from the external circular gallery, but 1h. 

 tires of these never come opposite to the -hidi 



connect the external gallery with the internal and upper 

 gallery. The extent of these y. greater or 



:mg to circumstances, and they each return by an 

 irregular and semicircular route, opening at v. 

 lances from the habitation into the high road, which i! 

 considerably from all the other : lions, 



both in construction and with rcirard to the use to which 

 it is applied. From the habitation th .1 out 



nearly in a straight line and forms the main passage of 

 communication between the habitation, the different por- 

 tions of the encampment, and the alleys leading to tin- 

 hunting-ground which open into il on" cadi side. In 

 diameter it exceed* the body of a mole, but its si/e will 

 not admit of two moles passing each other. The 

 from the reiterated pressure of the mole's sides n. 

 them, become smooth and compact, and it' 

 remarkable for the comparative absence of mole-hills, 

 which are frequent in connection with the allcxs and 

 quarries, as they have been termed, in constructing which 

 the earth is removed out of the way to tin- ^.mie- 



tiines a mole will lay out a second or even a third road in 

 order to the extension of its operation- tunes 



several individuals use one load in common, though they 

 nexer trespass on each other's hunting-grounds. In the 

 event of common usage, if two moles should happen to 

 meet, one must retreat into the nearest alley, unless both 

 should be pugnacious, in which case, the weakest is often 

 slain. In Conning this tunnel, the mole's instinct sii| 

 the place of science, for hi' drives it ai a greater <> 

 depth, according to the quality of the soil, or concurrent 

 cireitni*1ancc*. When there is nothing - 

 threatening a disturbance of its security, it i- 

 cavated at a depth of some four or five inche* : but if it is 

 carried under a road or a stream, a foot ai:d a half of 

 earth, sometimes more, is left above it. Thus does the 

 little animal cany on the subterraneous works necessary 

 for his support, travelling, and comfort ; and his tunings 

 never fall in. 



The alleys opening out from the sides of the bigb 

 have general!) a somewhat downward inclination from 



their commencement toward* their end. It has been ob- 

 served that when, on opening one of these alleys, a plen- 



