Family II. Talpadæ.
(Moles.)
Destined to burrow in the earth, the Moles are marked by an organization, beautifully adapted to such a habit. ‘The general form is nearly cylindrical, the head produced into a long muzzle, tapering almost to a point. The limbs are very short; there are no external ears, and the body is covered with the softest fur; all which characters are favourable to unimpeded progression through the earth. But though the limbs are short, they (the fore ones in particular) are of prodigious strength, and it is in an examination of these organs that we are struck with the admirable correspondence between the structure of these animals and their habits. Scarcely more than the fore paw projects beyond the skin, which is widened into a broad, hollow hand, the palm of which is directed outwards and backwards; and the fingers are terminated by very strong claws or nails, the under part of which is grooved. Thus a compact shovel is formed, which, digging away the earth from each side of the boring muzzle,
HAND OF MOLE.
throws it back into the burrow through which the animal is passing. The internal conformation of the fore limbs is no less remarkable than that which is external. The bones are very short, but of great strength and thickness; the shoulder-blade is greatly enlarged; and the breast-bone (sternum) is furnished with a ridge or keel, for the attachment of the large pectoral muscles, as in the case of the Bats, and more markedly, of Birds. The muscles of the arm and hand, of the neck, and of the chest, are of extraordinary vigour; and in the ligament of the neck, and in the muzzle, there are peculiar bones, which strengthen these parts in the laborious act of boring into the solid earth. The hinder parts are comparatively feeble; the great development of power being in the anterior half of the animal.
Genus Talpa. (Linn.)
The true Moles have the teeth thus arranged:—inc.68; can. 1-11-1; mol. 7-76-6=44:—the incisors are nearly equal; the canines large, triangular, and compressed. The eyes are very small, and nearly or quite concealed; the tail is short; the muzzle is simple; there are nails upon all the toes.
The structural peculiarities of the Moles having been briefly described in our notice of the Family, we have now to speak but of their economy. The species are but few, and our common Mole or Want (Talpa Europæa, Linn.) is a fair representative not only of the genus, but also of the Family, in which there is little variety, either of form or habits.
MOLE.
The beautiful appearance of the fur, its velvety softness, and the play of light upon its surface, are well known, as it is frequently used for purses. The last circumstance, the changing gleam of light, depends upon a remarkable peculiarity in the mode in which the fur grows. Each hair, instead of projecting from the skin obliquely backwards, as is usual, grows perpendicularly from the surface, without any inclination; so that like the pile of velvet it will lie in any direction in which it is rubbed: an interesting provision for an animal which often has to retreat rapidly backwards through a burrow too narrow to admit of turning. Though usually deep black, or silvery gray, according to the light, the Mole is sometimes found of a cream-colour, and occasionally of a bright orange hue.
The burrowing of the Mole is not a mere perforation of the earth at random, in search of the earth-worms (its ordinary food,) that are everywhere scattered through the soil. It is, on the contrary, performed with consummate art and regularity. A central ‘‘ fortress” is constructed so elaborately as to excite our admiration of the wisdom and goodness of God in endowing this little despised animal with instincts so extraordinary. In some situation of security, as under a bank or at the foot of a wall, a large hillock is formed of earth, which the Mole by pressing and beating has rendered compact. Within this dome the habitation or fortress is excavated. A circular gallery runs within the base, which communicates with one of less diameter above it, by five distinct passages. Three other passages lead from the latter. to a chamber within the basal gallery, which is the resting place of the Mole. From the basal gallery a passage extends to the extremity of the domain which the animal uses as his hunting ground. It differs from the ordinary excavations, and has been called the ‘‘ high road.” It is formed indeed rather by the compression of the earth into the sides, than by excavation; and hence it is very smooth and compact, being traversed several times every day. Its width, too, is
FORTRESS OF THE MOLE.
greater than that of the mole’s body. A passage from the central chamber descends perpendicularly, and rising at some distance from the fortress enters the high road. From various points in the basal gallery, about nine other passages stretch out like the spokes of a wheel, but all these curve round, and enter the high road at various distances. It is worthy of observation, that the connecting passages of the galleries and the chamber, never open opposite each other. In this curious abode the Mole resides during the summer, and from it, he perforates the surrounding domain by passages continually formed and pushed in all directions from the high road. "Nothing surely," observes Mr. Bell, in describing this interesting construction, "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."[1]
The Mole is an object of strong dislike to the farmer, who attributes much damage to the corn and other crops to the excavations of this animal: it is, however, by no means certain, that the evil is not counterbalanced by the destruction of various noxious larvæ and worms. Mr. Jesse considers that sheep thrive better in pastures where mole-hills are abundant, than where they are levelled and destroyed; and he confirms his own judgment by the opinion of the Ettrick Shepherd.[2]