THE SCALOPS, OR SHREW-MOLE. 427 



or egress of the Mole from almost any direction, so that when its acute senses give 

 notice of the approach of an enemy, it can make its retreat without difficulty. 



The first operation is to build a tolerably large hill of compact and well-trodden 

 earth. Near the summit of this mound the excavator runs a circular gallery, and another 

 near the bottom, connecting the two galleries with five short passages. It then burrows 

 into the centre of the mound, and digs a moderately large spherical hole, which it 

 connects with the lower gallery by three passages. A very large passage, which 

 is a continuation of the high-road, is then driven into the spherical chamber by 

 dipping under the lower gallery, and is connected with the circular chamber from 

 below. Lastly, the Mole drives a great number of runs, which radiate from the rest 

 in all directions, and which all open into the lower circular gallery. It will be seen 

 from this short description, that if a Mole should be surprised in its nest it can withdraw 

 through its central chamber and so reach the high-road at once, or can slip through 

 either of the short connecting galleries and escape into any of the numerous radiatory runs. 



In the central or middle chamber of the edifice the Mole places a quantity of dried 

 grass or leaves, upon which it sleeps during its hours of repose. This complicated 

 room is seldom used during the summer months, as at that time the Mole prefers to 

 live in one of the ordinary hillocks. 



The nest which the female contrives is not so complicated as the fortress, but is well 

 adapted for its purpose. The hillock in which the nest is made is always a very large 

 one, and is generally placed at some distance from the fortress. Its interior is very 

 large, and is generally filled with dried grass, moss, or other similar substances, and it 

 is said that in some of these nests have been found certain roots on which the young 

 Moles can feed during the first weeks of their existence. The young are usually born 

 about April, but their appearance in the world is not so determinately settled as that of 

 many animals, as young Moles are found continually from March until August. The 

 average of their number is four or five, although as many as seven young have been 

 found in one nest. There is but one brood in a year. 



The color of the Mole is usually of a blackish-gray, but it is extremely variable in 

 the tinting of its fur, and it is not uncommon to find in a single locality specimens of 

 every hue from brown to white. There are specimens in the British Museum of almost 

 every tint, and I have long had in my possession a cream-colored Mole-skin, which was 

 obtained I believe in Wiltshire, as it was furnished by a Mole-catcher that resided in 

 that country. The fur is so beautifully smooth and soft that it has sometimes, though 

 rarely, been employed as an article of wearing apparel, or used as a light and delicate 

 coverlet. The fur, or " felt," is best and most glossy if the animal is taken in the 

 winter. 



Whether the Mole is more useful or hurtful to the agricultural interest is at present a 

 mooted point, and seems likely to continue so. It cannot be denied, however, that the 

 subterraneous passages of the Mole, added to those of the earthworms, form a very 

 complete system of subsoil drainage, and that the creature is continually enriching the 

 surface of the ground by bringing fresh earth from a considerable depth, and thus 

 involuntarily performing the office of a plough or a spade. 



ONE of the animals which forms a link between the Moles and the Shrews, and seems 

 to possess some of the peculiar habits of each, is the curiously formed SCALOPS, or 

 SHREW-MOLE. 



This creature seems to be peculiar to Northern America, and is generally found near 

 the banks of rivers, being very water-loving in its habits. Like the ordinary mole, the 

 Scalops passes the greater portion of its existence below the surface of the ground, and 

 finds a subsistence among the worms and other creatures which it captures during its 

 subterraneous meanderings. The muzzle of the Scalops is even more remarkable than 

 that of the common mole, being much longer in proportion to the size of the animal, 

 and is cartilaginous at its extremity. The claws of the fore-feet are very long and 

 flattened, and are arranged in such a manner as to present a sharp point to the earth when 

 the creature exercises them in the act for which they were intended. The hinder feet and 

 legs are extremely small, and the tail is but short. There is no apparent outward vestige 



