TifE MOLE. 



How the Mole assumes this peculiar attitude I cannot con- 

 ceive. I have often seen it engaged in eating, and have sketched 

 the creature while so employed ; but, when the Mole has been 

 dead, I have been unable to place it in the proper attitude, 

 though anxious to do so in order that the artist might be able 

 to make his drawing properly. 



From seeing the animal eat, I can readily conceive the fury 

 with which it must be animated when it fights, and can perfectly 

 appreciate the truth of the assertion, that it has been observed 

 to fling itself upon a small bird, to tear its body open, and to 

 devour it while still palpitating with life. 



Nothing short of this fiery energy could sustain an animal in 

 the lifelong task of forcing itself through the solid earth ; and 

 it may well be imagined that when two male Moles of equal 

 strengtli happen to meet, the combat must be of the most 

 furious kind. 



To those who are accustomed only to look at animals from 

 their own stand-point, these battles may appear too insignifi- 

 cant to attract attention ; but to the eye of a naturalist, who 

 instinctively identifies himself with the nature of the animals 

 which he is observing, these combats lose all their insignificance, 

 and even partake in some degree of the sublime. Size is only 

 of relative importance ; and, in point of fact, a battle between 

 two Moles is as tremendous as one between two lions, if not 

 more so, because the Mole is more courageous than the lion, 

 and, relatively speaking, is far more powerful and armed with 

 weapons more destructive. 



On looking over the list of burrowing mammalia, the observer 

 cannot but be struck with the wonderful manner in which they 

 emerge from the earth with unsoiled fur. This capability is the 

 more remarkable in the animal now under consideration, because 

 it is continually engaged in making new tunnels, and is not 

 content merely to pass up and down a passage already excavated. 

 The sides of the passages, which are popularly known as the 

 high roads, are by degrees worn quite smooth by the attrition 

 of the Mole's body, so that in them there is little danger of 

 injury accruing to the fur. But that an animal should be able 



