MOLE. 119 



of the fingers acting either on the floor or sides of the 

 passages. 



Another very important organ in the peculiar mode of 

 life to which the Mole is subjected, is the elongated 

 muzzle. This part projects considerably beyond the 

 maxillary bones, and consists of the cartilages of the 

 nose, perforated by the nostrils, which are perfectly 



cylindrical tubes, elastic, flexible, and strengthened by a 

 little bone at the extremity. This curious organ appears, 

 from the observations of Geoffi'oy St. Hilaire, to be em- 

 ployed in two very different ofiices ; — as a true organ of 

 prehension, for seizing and bringing to the mouth its 

 food and other matters ; and as a boring instrument for 

 perforating the earth, and thus acting in conjunction 

 with the hands in the process of excavation. But 

 whilst the external appendages to the organ of smell are 

 thus beautifully developed for purposes remote from its 

 primary object, the sense itself and its more immediate 

 seat are found to occupy a very prominent place in the 

 sentient organization of the animal. The sense of sight, 

 so important to most others, would in the present case 

 be useless, at least during by far the greater portion of 

 its existence ; and hence we find that it is reduced to its 

 minimum of development, and sacrificed, as it were, to 



