MAMMALS. 



GOT 



noticed ; for it is barely two inches in length, and is the smallest mam- 

 mal known. 



The moles are the best burro wers of all the insectivores, and not one 

 of all the mammals exceeds them in adaptation for a life under ground. 

 Their fur is thick and soft, and the small bead-like eyes are concealed by 

 the hair so that the dirt cannot get into them ; and then the broad, long- 

 clawed fore feet are the most efficient digging-organs. Almost all of their 

 life is spent under ground, and their galleries run in every direction. The 

 habits of our native species have not been carefully studied, but it would 

 appear that none of them are ecpial to the European species in their abili- 



Fig. 489. — Common mole of Europe (Talpa europea). 



ties as sappers and miners. The common European species figured is the 

 best known and most celebrated of all. Many naturalists have studied its 

 habits, and there is such a uniformity in their results that we must believe 

 their accounts, wonderful as they may seem. 



The central portion of the ranges of the mole is in a small, hard 

 hillock, raised by the moles, and rendered firm and strong by the earth 

 being packed solidly together by the animals when forming it. Inside 

 this hill, at the base, is a circular gallery, and from it five passages go 

 obliquely inwards and upwards to another circular gallery near the top of 

 the hill, and from this three other passages go down to the chamber in 

 the centre of the mound — the home of the mole. From the first-men- 

 tioned circular gallery the passages radiate in all directions, but each 



