SENSES OF THE MOLE. 425 



creature ; for on one occasion, a Mole that had been made prisoner turned fiercely on its 

 captor, and fixed its teeth into his hand with such pertinacious courage that it would 

 not loosen its hold until it had been squeezed nearly to death between the teeth of its 

 antagonist, who was obliged to have resort to that unpleasant mode of defence in order 

 to free himself from the infuriated little animal. Another of these creatures flung itself 

 upon a young lady's neck, and inflicted a severe wound before its purpose could be 

 comprehended or its movements arrested. 



With the exception of sight, the senses of the Mole seem to be remarkably de- 

 veloped. 



The sense of scent is singularly acute, and enables the animal to discover the 

 presence of the earthworms on which it feeds, and to chase them successfully through 

 their subterranean meanderings, a kind of terrestrial otter. So acute is the sense of 

 smell, that the experienced Mole-catchers are in the habit of keeping a dead Mole at 

 hand when they are engaged in their destructive avocation ; and after setting their traps, 

 draw the dead Mole over every part of the trap or adjoining soil which their hands have 

 touched, so as to overpower the taint of human contact. This is an effectual precaution, 

 as the Mole is endowed with a powerful, very peculiar, and very unpleasant scent, that 

 adheres pertinaciously to the hand, 'and cannot be entirely removed without repeated 

 lavation. 



The hearing of the Mole is proverbially excellent ; and it is probable that the animal 

 is aided in its pursuit of worms by the sense of hearing as well as that of smell. 

 Much of the Mole's safety is probably owing to its exquisite hearing, which gives it 

 timely notice of the approach of any living being, and enables it to secure itself by 

 rapidly sinking below the surface of the earth. To tread so softly that the blind Mole 

 may not hear a footfall, is an expression which has become a household word. 



The sense of touch is peculiarly delicate, and seems to be chiefly resident in the long 

 and flexible nose, which is employed by the Mole for other purposes than those of scent. 

 When the creature is placed upon the surface of the ground, and is about to sink one of 

 its far-famed tunnels, it employs its nose for that purpose almost as effectually as its 

 armed fore-paws. I have often seen the animal engaged in the process of sinking a pit, 

 and have observed that it always begins by running about very rapidly, wriggling its 

 snout backwards and forwards upon the ground, as if to discover a soft spot. When it 

 has fixed upon a suitable locality, it begins its excavation by rooting in the ground with 

 its nose, and making a shallow groove in the earth by way of a commencement. Not 

 until it has formed this preliminary trench does it bring its digging claws into action ; 

 and even while employing its natural spades in the actual digging and casting up of 

 loose earth, it still makes use of its nose as a pioneer, so to speak, and seems to learn, 

 by means of the delicate sense of touch with which that organ is gifted, the nature of 

 the soil through which the animal intends to make its way. 



It seldom happens that all the senses of an animal are developed to an equal extent, 

 so that where one or two are singularly acute it is generally at the expense of the others. 

 Such is the case with the Mole ; for although the scent, touch, and hearing are re- 

 markable for their excellence, the sight is so extremely defective that it may almost be 

 considered as a nullity. It is true that the Mole possesses eyes ; but those organs of 

 vision are so small, and so deeply hidden in the fur, that they can be but of little use to 

 their owner, except to mark the distinctions between light and darkness. The eyes are 

 so exceedingly small that their very existence has been denied, and it is only by a 

 careful search that they can be seen at all. 



The simplest mode of observing the Mole's eyes in perfection is to immerse the 

 living animal in water. It fancies that it is in danger of drowning, and therefore exerts 

 its power of protruding the eyes from the furry coat, in order to employ every means for 

 escaping from the deadly peril. Its eyes are then perceptible, as little, black, beady 

 objects that glitter through the fur, but do not appear to enjoy any great powers of 

 vision. This power of protruding and withdrawing the eyes is rendered necessary by 

 the subterranean habits of the animal, which require that it should be able to protect 

 its eyes from the loose mould through which the creature is constantly passing. 



In order to adapt the Mole to the peculiar life which it leads, the entire framework of 



