HABITS OF THE MOLE. 97 
enables it to secure itself by rapidly sinking below the surface of the earth. 
To tread so softly that the blind Mole may not hear a footfall, is an expression 
which has become a household word. : 
The sense of touch is peculiarly delicate, and seems to be chiefly resident 
in the long and flexible nose, which is employed by the Mole for other pur- 
poses than those of scent. When the creature is placed upon the surface of 
the ground, and is about to sink one of its far-famed tunnels, it employs its 
nose for that purpose almost as effectually as its armed fore-paws. 
It seldom happens that all the senses of an animal are developed to an 
equal extent, so that where one or two are singularly acute, it is generally 
at the expense of the others. Such is the case with the Mole; for although 
the scent, touch, and hearing are remarkable for their excellence, the sight is 
so extremely defective that it may almost be considered as a nullity. It is 
true that the Mole possesses eyes ; but those organs of vision are so small, 
and so deeply hidden in the fur, that they can be but of little use to the 
owner, except to mark the distinctions between light and darkness. The eyes 
are so exceedingly small that their very existence has been denied, and it is 
only by a careful search that they can be seen at all. 
The fore paws are extremely large, and furnished with strong and flattened 
nails, They are turned rather obliquely, as seen in the figure, in order to give 
free scope to their exertions. The paws are devoid of the soft fur that 
shields the rest of the body, and are covered witha thick but naked skin. It 
is chiefly to these paws that any mould is found adherent when the Mole is 
captured, for the soft and velvet-like fur permits no earthy stain to defile its 
glossy smoothness. 
The Mole is said to bean excellent swimmer, and to be able to cross rivers 
when led to such an act by any adequately powerful motive. How far true 
this assertion may be I cannot prove by personal experience; but I think it 
is likely to be possible, for I have seen a Mole swim across the bend of a 
brook—a distance of some few yards—and perform its natatory achievement 
with great ease. I was not near enough to ascertain the mode of its progres- 
sion, but it seemed to use its fore-paws as the principal instruments of loco- 
motion. This circumstance took place in Wiltshire. 
From all accounts the Mole seems to be a thirsty animal, and to stand in 
constant need of water, drinking every few hours in the course of the day. 
In order to supply this want it is in the habit of sinking well-likepits in diffe- 
rent parts of its “runs,” so that it may never be without the means of quench- 
ing its thirst. Everything that the Mole does is marked with that air of 
desperate energy which is so characteristic of the animal. The labourers in 
different parts of England all unite in the same story, that the Mole works 
for three hours “ like a horse,” and then rests for three hours, labouring and 
resting alternately through the day, and with admirable perception of time. 
The well-known “ mole-hills,” which stud certain lands, and which disfigure 
them so sadly, however much their unsightliness may be compensated by 
their real usefulness, are of various kinds, according to the sex and age of 
the miner. The small hillocks which follow each other in rapid succession, 
are generally made by the female Mole before she has produced her little 
family, and when she is not able to undergo the great labour of digging in 
the harder soil. Sometimes the “run” is so shallow as to permit the super- 
incumbent earth to fall in, so that the course which the Mole has followed is 
little more than a trench. This is said to be produced by the little coquetries 
that take place between the Mole and its future mate, when the one flies in 
simulated terror, and the other follows with undisguised determination. 
Deeper in the soil is often found a very large burrow, sufficiently wide to 
permit two Moles to pass each other. ‘This is one of the high-roads which 
H 
