Can Moles See? 141 



surface, pass the trap, and dive back into the tunnel 

 beyond ! 



The belief in this animal's blindness, so common as to 

 be almost universal, is therefore groundless, though no 

 doubt it sees better in a dim light than- in a bright one, 

 its habits, as with the bats and owls, being chiefly 

 nocturnal. But, if at all deficient in visual power, the 



MOLE. 



deficiency is fully compensated for by a high develop- 

 ment in three of its other senses smell, hearing, and 

 touch and possibly the fourth, taste. Certainly it has 

 a discriminating palate, as I have proved by actual test ; 

 while it can hear acutely, the least noise in its neigh- 

 bourhood causing it, if above ground, to plunge instantly 

 under, or suspend operations if excavating below. It is 



