124 HABITS OF THE MOLE. 



flattened nails. They are turned rather obliquely, as seen in the figure, 

 in order to give free scope to their exertions. The paws are devoid of 

 the soft fur that shields the rest of the body, and are covered with 9 

 thick but naked skin. It is chiefly to these paws that any mould is 

 found adherent when the Mole is captured, for the soft and velvet-like 

 fur permits no earthy stain to defile its glossy smoothness. 



The Mole is said to be an excellent swimmer, and to be able to cross 

 rivers when led to such an act by any adequately powerful motive. 

 How far true this assertion may be I cannot prove by personal experi- 

 ence ; but I think it is likely to be possible, for I have seen a Mole swim 

 across the bend of a brook — a distance of some few yards — and perform 

 its natatory achievement with great ease. I was not near enough to 

 ascertain the mode of its progression, but it seemed to use its fore-paws 

 as the principal instruments of locomotion. This circumstance took 

 place in Wiltshire. 



From all accounts, the Mole seems to be a thirsty animal, and to 

 stand in constant need of water, drinking every few hours in the course 

 of the day. In order to supply this want it is in the habit of sinking 

 well-like pits in different parts of its " runs," so that it may never be 

 without the means of quenching its thirst. Everything that the Mole 

 does is marked with that air of desperate energy which is so character- 

 istic of the animal. The laborers in different parts of England all unite 

 in the same story, that the Mole works for three hours " like a horse," 

 and then rests for three hours, laboring and resting alternately through 

 the day, and with admirable perception of time. 



The Avell-known " mole-hills," which stud certain lands, and which 

 disfigure them so sadly, however much their unsightliness may be com- 

 pensated by their real usefulness, are of various kinds, according to the 

 sex and age of the miner. The small hillocks which follow each other 

 in rapid succession are generally made by the female Mole before she 

 has produced her little family, and when she is not able to undergo the 

 great labor of digging in the harder soil. Sometimes the " run " is so 

 shallow as to permit the superincumbent earth to fall in, so that the 

 course which the Mole has followed is little more than a trench. This 

 is said to be produced by the little coquetries that take place between 

 the Mole and its future mate, when the one flies in simulated terror, and 

 the other follows with undisguised determination. Deeper in the soil 

 is often found a very large burrow, sufficiently wide to permit two 

 Moles to pass each other. This is one of the 'high-roads which lead 

 from one feeding-ground to another, and from which the different 

 shafts radiate. 



But the finest efforts of talpine architecture are to be found in the 

 central fortress, from which the various roads diverge, and the nest 

 which the maternal Mole forms for the security of her young. 



