CHAPTER IX. 



SOME COMMON MAMMALS. 



NOTES FOE SCHOOL STUDIES. 



THE MOLE. 



MOLES are frequently abundant in certain districts, and 

 are not difficult to obtain. When the opportunity arises a 

 lesson should be given upon the mole's adaptive characters. 

 Moles are borrowers ; we are familiar with the earth thrown 

 up by them, i.e. "molehills," in the course of their excava- 

 tions. 



With a dead mole before us we notice, as we draw it 

 through our hands, its remarkable approximation to the 

 cylindrical form. There are here none of the undulations 

 which mark the contour of mammals in general. By con- 

 trast we think of the arched back of the mouse or squirrel, 

 the sinuous curves of the weasel or the stoat, and note that 

 the mole fitted to life in cylindrical burrows has a body 

 of a similar shape. 



We stroke the fur of the mole, noting its greyish-black 

 colour ; we feel its delicate, oily-like softness. So marked 

 is this that we look at our hands again to make sure that 

 the fur is not oily. The mole's fur has been described as 

 soapy to the touch, and the value of this property is that, 

 though rubbing continually against the soil, the latter does 

 not adhere. The fur, so long as it is dry, remains clean. 



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