"Well said, old Mole, can'st work in the earth 193. In what respects is the anatomy of the mole admirably adapted to its mode of life? The animal burrows underground in pursuit of worms, upon which it feeds. Its feet are so many shovels; they determine the action of rooting in the ground; and everything about the animal's body agrees with this destination. The cylindrical figure of the mole, as well as its compact form, arising from the terseness of its limbs, proportionably lessens its labour; because, according to its bulk, it thereby requires the least possible quantity of earth to be removed from its progress. It has nearly the same structure of the face and jaws as a pig, and the same office for them. The nose is sharp, slender, tendinous, strong, with a pair of nerves going down to the end of it. The plush covering which, by the smoothness, closeness, and polish of the short piles that compose it, rejects the adhesion of almost every species of earth, defends the animal from cold and wet, and from the impediment which it would experience by the mould sticking to its body. 194. Let us compare for a moment the bats with the moles with reference to their locomotion. Both are insectivorous, but how widely different in their conformation! The bat has to winnow its way through the air: the mole, like the bat, has to re-act against a given medium--a very different one, certainly-and is endowed with a power of moving through that medium by means of a modification of the locomotive organs beautifully adapted to its density. Instead of the lengthened bones of the fore-arm that so well assist the bat to make its way with outstretched wing through the air, all in this part of the organisation of the mole is short and compact, to enable it to bore through the dense medium where it is to live and move and have its being. The development is all anterior. The fore part of the mole forms an elongated cone; the posterior part is narrow and small, and the whole of its proportions are admirably fitted to assist it, so to speak, in flying through the earth. The long and almost round scapula, the expanded humerus, the enormous power, in short, of the anterior extremities, and the great strength and compactness of the fingers, are all fitted for the digging duty they have to do. "The glass through which an envious eye doth gaze, Can easily make a mole-hill mountain seem."-FLETCHER. i Add to this a soft, short-cut velvety coat, to which no particle of soil ever adheres, and you have the perfection of organisation for rapid progress through the ground.* 195. Why are moles beneficial to farmers? Because of the great number of worms which they devour, which more than compensates for the injury they are supposed to do to the soil, and to roots. It is said that where old mole-hills are most abundant in sheep pastures, the latter animal is generally in a healthy state, as it feeds on the wild thyme and other salubrious herbs, which flourish on these heaps of earth. It is also said that after the mole-hills had been destroyed in a park which belonged to the Earl of Essex, the deer never throve. The Rev. C. A. Bury has pointed out that the good resulting to the farmer from the drainage afforded by the mole-hills is considerable. 196. Every one is aware of the fact that the mole burrows for its food, that its nest is formed underground, that a larger hillock than the rest is raised for the reception of its young; but it is not so generally known that its subterranean excavations are of the most distinct and determinate character; that there are permanent passages or highroads for its ordinary travels from one part of its domain to another; that into these roads open the excavations in which it follows its daily labours in search of food; that its fortress -the house in which it resides from the autumn to the spring-is of a complex and most ingenious structure, and that this domicile is always a distinct and almost remote building from that in which the nest is formed. The district or domain to which an individual mole confines himself may be termed its encampment. Within its limits, or at least in immediate communication with the district, all the labours of the animal are pursued. It consists of the habitation or fortress, from which extends the high-road by which the animal reaches the opposite extremities of the encampment, and of various galleries or excavations opening into this road, which it is continually extending in search of food, and which constitute, in fact, its hunting-ground. The fortress is formed under a large hillock, which is always raised in a situation of safety and protection Penny Encyclopædia, D "Pray you, tread softly, that the blind mole may not -cither under a bank, against the foundation of a wall, at the root of a tree, or in some similar locality. The earth of which the dome covering this curious habitation is composed is rendered exceedingly strong and solid by being pressed and beaten by the mole in forming it. It contains a circular gallery within the base, which communicates with a smaller one above by five nearly equidistant passages; and the domicile or chamber is placed within the lower and beneath the upper circular gallery, to which last it has access by three similar passages. From the chamber extends another road, the direction of which is at first downwards for several inches; it then rises again, to open into the high-road of the encampment. From the external circular gallery open about nine other passages, the orifices of which are never formed opposite to those which connect the outer with the inner and upper gallery: these extend to a greater or less distance, and return, each taking an irregular, semi-circular route, and opening into the high-road at various distances from the fortress. Such is a very hasty description of this most singular structure; and nothing surely can be imagined more admirably calculated to ensure the security or the retreat of the inhabitant than such an arrangement of internal routes of communication as this. The chamber communicating beneath directly with the road, and above with the upper gallery-this with the lower by five passages, and the latter again with the road by no less than nine-exhibit altogether a complication of architecture which may rival the more celebrated erections of the beaver." The nest is always distinct, and frequently remote from the fortress, and is usually, but not always, covered by a hillock, which, when it exists, is much larger than an ordinary mole-hill. It is formed simply by excavating and enlarging the point of intersection by three or four passages. The bed of the nest is composed of a mass of herbage, grass, roots, or leaves. In one which was examined by Geoffrey and Le Court, no less than two hundred and four blades of young wheat were counted. This, however, can scarcely be considered as an ordinary occurrence, as they generally prefer dry and soft substances. The period of gestation is supposed to be about two months or upwards; and the young are brought forth in April-sometimes earlier, at others later, according to the season: indeed, young moles have been found at all times from the beginning of April till August, which has led some persons to believe that there are more than one brood in the year. There are generally four or five, sometimes as few as three, rarely six.* 197. Why were moles once thought to be destitute of eyes? Because, as organs of sight, if highly developed, would not only be useless to a burrowing animal, but a hindrance to its mining operations, the eyes are simply rudimentary, and are so hidden in the fur that their existence was for a long time doubted. • Maunder's "Treasury of Natural History." "The brooke is ready to o'reflow the brim, Or in the bancke the water having got Some mole-hole runs, where he expected not."-BROWne. 198. Why have moles elongated muzzles, endowed with a refined sense of touch? Because, being nearly destitute of sight, they are gifted with an exquisite sense of touch, which compensates for the loss of the visual faculty, and enables them to find their food in the darkness under the earth's surface. 199. Why are "fairy rings" attributed to moles? It is supposed by some naturalists that the verdant circles thus denominated are owing to the operations of these animals, who at certain seasons perform their burrowings in a series of circles, which, loosening the soil, give the surface a greater fertility, and consequent rankness of grass. 200. Why is the collar-bone of the mole of extraordinary thickness and length? Because the peculiar habit of the animal rendered superior strength in this part of the body necessary in order to facilitate its progress when mining its way through the ground. The collar-bones are wanting in those animals that use their anterior extremities for progression only, and there are rudiments of them in such as hold a middle station. 201. Why when a female mole is caught in a trap, is the male frequently found lying dead close beside her? Because the attachment between these animals is very great; and, in this instance, affection overcomes the calls of hunger, and the fast proves fatal to the animal. 202. Why does the water-shrew appear to be of a bright silvery colour when swimming? Because its hairy coat repels the water, and forms numerous bubbles upon the surface, producing a silver-like appearance, When the little animal quits the water, these bubbles fall off, and the coat remains dry. 203. Why is the hedgehog covered with short bony spines? Being helpless and inoffensive these spines form a coat of armour effective against its principal enemies. They are firmly fixed in a tough skin, and are capable of resisting a great amount of force. The natural enemies of the hedgehog are weasels, stoats, ferrets, wild cats, and foxes. When attacked the hedgehog rolls itself up, and waits till the danger has passed. It is rarely that its enemies can gain advantage over it when once rolled within its coat of prickly armour. 204. The hedgehog is destructive of snakes, against which it wages war in the following curious manner :-The cunning quadruped makes a sudden attack on the reptile, and, giving it a hard bite, instantly rolls itself up for safety; then cautiously unfolds and inflicts another wound, repeating its attacks until the snake is powerless. Then the hedgehog feeds upon its prey, generally beginning with the tip of the tail, and proceeding upwards. SUB-ORDER III.-CARNIVORA. 205. Why is the third sub-order of carnaria called carnivora? The term implies flesh-eaters, and is used to distinguish the suborder carnivora, which consists of flesh-devouring quadrupeds, from the general order carnaria, which includes insect and worm-eaters, as well as flesh-eating quadrupeds, divided into three sub-orders, as already explained. 206. Why have carnivorous animals large canine teeth? Being beasts of prey, they are furnished with these teeth as weapons for seizing the creatures upon which they feed. 207. Why are their molar teeth tuberculated and fitted into the surfaces of each other? Because the flesh which they devour requires to be lacerated by a cutting motion. The jaws of carnivorous animals have simply an upward and downward motion, and do not move, also, sideways like the jaws of the ox, and other ruminants. |