THE MOLE 7 



snails, large insects and larvae, small vermin, roots, especially those 

 of plantain, fallen fruits, and, in season, eggs of ground-nesting 

 wild birds, game, and poultry, also weakly young birds and small 

 animals ; indeed, it is very fond of flesh, either raw or cooked. In 

 winter the hedgehog wraps itself in a warm nest, composed of moss, 

 dried hay and leaves, and remains torpid till the return of spring. 

 When attacked by other animals it defends itself by rolling up, and 

 thus exposing no part of the body that is not furnished with, spines. 

 It may be domesticated to a certain extent, and has been employed 

 to destroy cockroaches. (See Useful Helps, p. 250.) 



Although hedgehogs have been asserted to suck cows and injure 

 their udders, this is equally false with the imputation that they 

 mount fruit trees, and come down with apples, pears, etc., stuck 

 upon their bristles. There is a certainty, however, of the flesh of 

 hedgehogs being good eating, and the skin was formerly used for 

 the purpose of napping cloths. The species found in bone caves 

 (Erinaceus fossilis) is scarcely to be distinguished from the common 

 living species. 



The MOLE (Talpa europcea or T. europceus), Fig. 6, is the type of 



FIG. 6. THE MOLE AND MOLE HILL. 



the family TALPID.E, which is included in the order INSECTIVORA. 

 The body is covered with thick glossy hair of furry consistence. 

 The toes are five in number to each foot, and furnished with strong 

 claws of curved shape admirably adapted for burrowing. The 

 fore-feet are of peculiar form and the palms turned backwards and 

 outwards so as to scoop out the earth from the burrow, whilst the 

 hinder limbs are used to throw the material behind the animal as 

 it burrows forward. The eyes of the adult mole are rudimentary 

 and functionally useless, whilst external ears are wholly wanting, 



