46 VERTEBRATA. MAMMALIA. 



against cold ; its nose is long and pointed, to bore 

 its passages, and its limbs are short, and of amazing 

 strength. But it is in the paws of the fore-feet, the 

 hands as they may well be termed, that the bene- 

 ficent wisdom of the great Creator is abundantly 

 manifested. 



The bones of these extremities are short, and of 

 peculiar form ; the toes are almost inflexible, so that 

 the paw, or hand, can be only partially closed ; they 

 are furnished with stout and long nails, hollow 

 beneath, which serve as gouges in digging away the 

 soil. The palms are turned outwards, and their 

 only motion is in a backward direction, and thus the 

 Mole is enabled to throw the earth, which it so 

 rapidly excavates, behind its body as it advances. 



The Mole is not absolutely blind, though its eyes 

 are but little developed, as, indeed, they would be 

 in its usual circumstances quite useless ; the sense 

 of hearing is acute, and that of smell perhaps still 

 more so. The fur, from its velvety softness, rich 

 black hue, and play of light, is very beautiful ; but 

 there is an Asiatic species allied to it, which far 

 exceeds it in beauty. It is the Golden Mole, (Chry- 

 sochlori-s* Asiaticus,) whose fur possesses those splen- 

 did, changeable, metallic gleams, which so frequently 

 adorn birds and insects, but are not found in any 

 other quadruped. The general hue is golden green, 

 changing to that of burnished copper or bronze. 



* Xfwrsj, clirysoS) gold, and x^- u ^i-> cldoros, green. 



