518 
COMMON MOLE. 
accurate dissections of the eyes of Moles with the 
help of microscopes^ having a doubt whether what 
we take to be eyes were such or no ; and, upon 
strict scrutiny, could plainly distinguish the crys- 
talHne and vitreous humours, and the ligamentum 
ciliare, with the atramentaceous mucus:" the pu- 
pil he manifestly discerned to be round, and the 
cornea copped or conical: the eye is at a great 
distance from the brain, and the optic nerve very 
long and slender. 
The Mole is reported to feed not only on worms^ 
insects, &c. but also on the roots of vegetables; 
but it is certainly more carnivorous than frugivo- 
rous. It is even a very fierce and voracious animal 
in particular circumstances; and it is observed by 
Sir Thomas Brown, that whatever these animals 
be contented with under ground, yet, when above 
it, they will sometimes tear and eat one another; 
and in a large glass case, wherein a mole, a toad, 
and a viper were inclosed, we have known (says 
he) the Mole to dispatch them, and to devour a 
good part of them both. 
The Mole is with difficulty kept alive in a state 
of confinement, unless constantly supplied with a 
provision of damp mould to reside in. 
Like other animals of a black colour, the Mole 
is sometimes found perfectly white, or cream-co- 
loured, and sometimes spotted. In a memoir re- 
lative to the Mole, published by M. de la Faille, it 
appears that four varieties may be reckoned, viz. 
the white Mole, the rufous or tawny Mole, the 
greenish-yellow or citron-coloured Mole (found 
