MOLK. 



117 



wanderings and its repose, its winter retreat, and the 

 nest ill which its young are brought forth and nourished, 

 are all so many calls for the most laborious and enduring 

 toil ; but, on the other hand, that toil is so amply pro- 

 vided for in the whole structure of the animal, so exactly 

 balanced by the strength and conformation of its limbs, 

 that it cannot be considered as exceeding the healthful 

 and even pleasurable exercise of its natural powers. 

 The general form of the body, which is nearly cylindri- 

 cal, is calculated to facilitate its rapid progress through 

 the subterranean passages which form its only routes of 

 communication between the different parts of its domain; 

 whilst its soft and silky fur, which, from its being in- 

 serted in the skin perpendicularly to its surface, will lie 

 indifferently in any direction, offers no obstacle to its 

 retrograde retreat when it meets with any opposition to 

 its progress. The anterior extremities exhibit the most 

 admirable conformation for the purpose of excavating 

 its way through the soil. The strength and peculiar 

 structure of the bones of the shoulder and of the fore- 



arm arc in harmony witli the remarkable form and direc- 

 tion of the hand. The joints of the fingers are extremely 

 short, with the exception of the terminal ones, \vhich 

 are almost as long as the rest of the hand : these are 



