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of his life to the study of the habits and structure of moles, and he
tells us, that they will run as fast as a horse will gallop. By his
observations he rendered essential service to a large district in
France, for he discovered that numbers of moles had undermined the banks
of a canal, and that, unless means were taken to prevent the
catastrophe, these banks would give way, and inundation would ensue. By
his ingenious contrivances and accurate knowledge of their habits, he
contrived to extirpate them before the occurrence of further mischief.
Moles, however, are said to be excellent drainers of land, and Mr. Hogg,
the Ettrick Shepherd, used to declare, that if a hundred men and horses
were employed to dress a pasture farm of 1,500 or 2,000 acres, they
would not do it as effectually as moles would do if left to themselves.

The late Earl of Derby possessed a small deserted island, in the Loch of
Clunie, 180 yards from the main land, and as proof that moles swim well,
a number of them crossed the water, and took possession of this place.
They are said to be dragged, as beavers are, by their companions, who
lay hold of their tail, and pull them along while they lie on their
backs, embracing a quantity of soil dug out in forming their runs. The
fur of the mole is very short, fine, and close, and is as smooth and
soft as Genoa velvet.

Moles display a high degree of instinct in the skilful construction of
their subterranean fortresses. Their site is not indicated by those
little mounds of loose earth, which we see raised up at night, and which
mark their hunting excursions, but under a hillock reared by themselves,
and protected by a wall, bank, or roots of a tree. The earth is well
worked, so as to make it compact and hard, and galleries are formed
which communicate with each other. A circular gallery is placed at the
upper part of the mound, and five descending passages lead from this to
a gallery below, which is of larger circumference. Within this lower
gallery is a chamber, which communicates with the upper gallery by three
descending tunnels. This chamber is, as it were, the citadel of the
mole, in which it sleeps.

A principal gallery goes from the lower gallery, in a direct line to the
utmost extent of the ground through which the mole hunts, and from the
bottom of this dormitory is another, which descends farther into the
earth, and joins this great or principal road. Eight or nine other
tunnels run round th