38 POPULAR SCRIPTURE ZOOLOGY.

cannot solve. The probability is, that, like most others, he
had taken his notions of the animal from the description of
Aristotle, or rather from the popular opinion grounded on
that description; and that Aristotle described this blind or
southern mole, for our mole has not only eyes, but very
brilliant ones, though they are very small. The difference
in the eyes of these two species is supposed to be owing to
the greater abundance of under-ground food at the dis-
posal of the mole of southern latitudes, which prevents the
necessity of their seeking it on the surface, where the eyes of
the English mole are valuable to them. How remarkable
is the constant adaptation of means to the end required, in
every part of the creation !

The mole is usually a solitary animal, each having its own
habitation, which is constructed with great care, generally
near a wall or the roots of a tree, which form a shelter: it
is dome-shaped so as to drain off the water, and sufficiently
hard and firm to prevent the rain penetrating through; the
interior consists of two galleries and a circular dwelling,
which are all connected by means of sloping passages. This
habitation is formed in the latter part of the summer, and
is used by the mole as a resting-place from the time the
autumnal rains commence, until the return of summer.