504 MAMMALIA. 



they are not so strong as the anterior ones, and are armed with 

 more slender nails. 



The body of the Mole has the appearance of a cylindrical mass, 

 terminating in a cone at one of its extremities. There is no trace 

 of a neck; the head abruptly succeeds the body without any 

 depression or attenuation. At the end, and underneath 

 the head, which gradually terminates in a point, sustained 

 by a particular bone, in which the nostrils are pierced, is 

 situated the mouth. The nose is, at the same time, a boring 

 instrument, destined to second the action of the creature's paws 

 by a simultaneous effort. The cranium is very flat, elongated, 

 and furnished with vigorous muscles. The entire body is covered 

 bjr a fine, silky, thick, and short black hair. 



For a long time it was admitted that the Mole was destitute 

 of vision. Creating for it a whimsical exception, it was pre- 

 tended that nature had refused to give eyes to this subterranean 

 dweller because it did not require them. This error was 

 exposed by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, who discovered in 

 the Mole two black eyes, nearly imperceptible it is true, and 

 deeply hidden among the sombre fur — a circumstance which had 

 misled other observers. Certain anatomists, stubbornly clinging 

 to their opinion, then pretended that the ej'es of the Mole were 

 only rudimentarj' organs, and quite unfit for vision. But inge- 

 nious experiments have demonstrated that the Mole possesses, 

 to a certain degree, the sense of sight. This sense, it is true,, 

 is exercised imperfectly, but that it exists can no longer be 

 doubted. 



The Mole possesses a very acute sense of hearing. The ex- 

 ternal auditive concha is entirely absent, but the internal ear 

 is highly developed. Its olfactory organ is also excellent. The 

 mouth, very widely cleft, is admirably furnished, containing not 

 less than forty-four teeth, distributed in equal numbers in each 

 jaw. When we have said that this animal, a lover of darkness, 

 has a short, scantily-furnished tail, and ten teats beneath the 

 abdomen, we have completed its portrait. 



Everybody knows the habits of the Mole ; we are aware that it 

 passes its life below ground, occupied in making galleries, through 

 which it runs with astonishing rapidity. Fertile, cultivated 

 land is its favourite habitat. Wet or stony regions do not suit 



