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A DESCRIPTION OF 
THE MOLE. (Talpa F.uropcea.') 
THE Mole is a curious, awkwardly shaped animal, with a 
long flexible snout, very small eyes, and four hand-like 
feet, armed with very strong claws, with which it scrapes 
its way through the ground, when it is forming the sub- 
terranean passages in which it takes up its abode. The 
Mole, though it is supposed not to possess the advantage 
of sight, has the senses of hearing and feeling in great 
perfection ; and its fur, which is short and thick, is set 
erect from its skin, so as not to impede its progress 
whether it goes forward or backwards along its runs. 
These runs are very curiously constructed : they cross 
each other at different points, but they all lead to a nest 
in the centre, which the Mole makes his castle, or place 
of abode. The passages are made by the Mole in his 
search after the earth-worms and grubs, on which he 
lives ; and the molehills are formed by the earth he scrapes 
