. Natural history. For the use of schools and families. Zoology. INSECT-EATING QUADRUPEDS. 67 ent species. The eyes of tlie Mole are very small, as it has but little use for vision; but its hearing and smell are very acute. Its fur is fine and soft, and it will not retain a particle of dirt, although continually in contact with it. Its fore paws, mounted with strong claws, are powerful instruments for digging. In Fig. 49 you have the bones of one of these paws, which are very large, and are worked by strong muscles. The head is constructed for digging also, the frame of the nose be- ing wholly
. Natural history. For the use of schools and families. Zoology. INSECT-EATING QUADRUPEDS. 67 ent species. The eyes of tlie Mole are very small, as it has but little use for vision; but its hearing and smell are very acute. Its fur is fine and soft, and it will not retain a particle of dirt, although continually in contact with it. Its fore paws, mounted with strong claws, are powerful instruments for digging. In Fig. 49 you have the bones of one of these paws, which are very large, and are worked by strong muscles. The head is constructed for digging also, the frame of the nose be- ing wholly bone, instead of part g^gtle, as in most Other ani- mals. The hinder part of the body has not the great strength of the fore part, for the hind feet are not em- ployed in digging. 109. The plan of a mole-hill is very curious. It has, as you see in the plan in Fig. 50, two circular galleries, one above the other, con- nected together by five passages. In the very — centre of the mound, and on a level with the ground around it, is a Fig. 50.—Mole-hilL . , , . Circular apartment where the Mole sleeps. This is connected by three pas- sages with the upper gallery, and not at all with the lower one. Then there are passages running out from the lower gallery, and into one of these opens a passage from the circular chamber. Just this plan has been instinctively adopted ever since the first mole was created. The food of the Mole is chiefly worms and insects, which it gath- ers by burrowing. The good which the Mole does to the farmer in this way is probably much greater than any harm which his burrowing may sometimes occasion. 110. The Shrew Mouse, Fig. 51 (p. 68), is so called be- cause it is so much like a Mouse, but it is readily distin-. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1883
