342 THE SHREW MOLE. 



But the finest efforts of talpine architecture are to be found in the central fortress, from 

 which the various roads diverge, and the nest which the maternal Mole forms for the security 

 of her young. 



The fortress is of a very peculiar construction, and is calculated to permit the ingress 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 gener- 

 ally 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 museums of almost every tint, and I have 

 long had in my possession a cream-colored Mole-skin. 



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 contimie so. It cannot be denied, however, that the subter- 

 raneous 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 sub- 

 sistence 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 



