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 
by 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 eyes of the Mole were 
only rudimentary 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 
