A Plea for the Moles. 



It is also worthy of observation that in constructing" both its nest 

 and fortress, the mole is careful to place them in secure situations, 

 where there is little chance of their being- trampled in from above. 

 They are generally covered with a large mound of earth, which is by 

 some means consolidated to the required hardness, so as to be able 

 to offer considerable resistance to pressure from without. Then in 

 order that these several retreats should not be liable to injury from 

 rain, they are made almost even with the ground, and at a higher 

 level than the runs and passages which serve, on occasion, as drains 

 or channels, to carry off the water. 



That the Mole is not dormant in winter, as Linnseus and others 

 have supposed, we have ample evidence in the hillocks which are 

 thrown up by this indefatigable labourer even during the most 

 severe weather : indeed who has not noticed a fresh heap from time 

 to time thrust up through the snow, more conspicuous then than at 

 other times, from the contrast of colour ? and who has not marvelled 

 at the strength of the digger, . as he looks upon a new-made mound 

 of earth pushed up through the frozen ground ? though at the same 

 time with a wise appreciation of the economy of labour, this skilled 

 workman will, at such seasons, wherever such a course is practicable, 

 push the accumulated earth before him till he reaches the nearest 

 hillock, and there thrust it through an old hole to the surface, rather 

 than trouble himself to make a new one through the turf, as he 

 would do, if the ground was soft. It is however in autumn that 

 the principal excavations are effected, and the early morning, when 

 all around is still, is the time which it prefers for its labours, though 

 it will, on occasion, carry on its works at other times. So sensitive, 

 too, is it to interruption, that the slightest sound or movement of 

 an approaching foot puts an immediate stop to the work, and no 

 further excavation of the earth will be attempted that day, It is a 

 remarkable fact that it is able to burrow in wet miry ground no less 

 than in dry earth, without soiling or even tarnishing the brightness 

 of its glossy skin, but then we must remember that the earth is as 

 natural to the short thick close fur of the mole, as the air is to the 

 feathers of the bird, or the water to the scales of the fish. Moreover 

 it is wonderful, if surprized above ground, how it contrives, almost 



