200 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



which may be perceived by shaving the head of the Mole, 

 closes the aperture, at the will of the animal, to prevent its 

 being obstructed by earth or sand. 



All the feet are divided into five toes. The fore-feet, 

 which have the form of hands, are broad, and placed ob- 

 liquely, so that the palm is always secured, and the toes, 

 (or fingers,) armed with flat and strong nails, are directed 

 externally, and downwards. The hinder-feet are much 

 smaller than the fore. The tail is short and scaly, like 

 that of rats. The anus is exceedingly prolonged, from the 

 origin of the tail. The body, thick and muscular, is covered 

 with skin, which adheres strongly to the flesh, and is well 

 furnished with close, soft, and silky hairs, insomuch, that 

 the body of the Mole is not unlike a velvet pincushion, the 

 two extremities of which are formed by the pointed muzzle, 

 and the short and round tail. 



The left, or upper, orifice of the stomach, is surrounded 

 by a fibrous wing, destined to bind this viscus together. 

 Severinus found a transverse line, which attaches in some 

 way, and separates the pylorus. Other anatomists have 

 not made the same observation. The liver is divided into 

 four lobes, though sometimes there are but three ; and 

 some anatomists have even discovered five. Their colour 

 is a reddish-brown. 



The gall-bladder is observed with difficulty, and does not 

 contain much liquor. There are five lobes to the lungs. 

 The heart is of an elongated form, and situated entirely on 

 the left side. The spleen, which immediately adheres to the 

 stomach, resembles that of a dog, precisely in its con- 

 formation. 



But it is the parts of generation which are chiefly re- 

 markable in the Mole. " Nature," says Buffbn, " has 

 been munificent, indeed, to this animal, in bestowing on it, 

 as it were, the use of a sixth sense. It possesses a remark- 

 able apparatus of reservoirs and vessels, a prodigious 



