ith the ceiling, while the
other is above. The upper circle is decidedly smaller than the lower;
and there are five ascending passages which connect the galleries with
each other. There is only one entrance, however, and from it three roads
lead into the upper part of the keep. When a mole enters the house from
one of the tunnels, he must go through the basement in order to get to
the upper part of the house and so descend into the keep. There is still
another entrance into the keep from below. One passage leads downward
directly from the middle of the chamber, then curving upward, leads into
a larger tunnel or subway.

Throughout the vast network of tunnels every inch of wall space seems
quite smooth and polished. This is due to the continuous pressure of the
mole's fur against the walls. Thus there is little danger of the walls
collapsing even after a rain-storm. No human being knows just why the
mole has such a complex system of underground streets and tunnels;
perhaps it is because he finds that a greater feeling of safety
surrounds his home when he knows that in case of danger he can escape in
a dozen directions. Surely he is the original builder of labyrinths!

How marvellous that so tiny a creature can build such a fortress! The
complex chambers and circular galleries do justice to an artist. The
space of ground covered by a single mole's roads and galleries is
almost unbelievable; in every direction from the fortress they run, and
are sunk at various depths, according to the condition of the mole's
hunting-grounds, which are really the spaces of ground through which he
tunnels. Worms and underground insects are his chief food. Sometimes he
ploughs along the surface of the ground, and exposes his back as he
works; but if the weather is dry, he ploughs deeply into the earth for
worms. He fills his storehouse with earth-worms for winter use, and he
finds it necessary to bite their heads off, which leaves them inert but
not dead. This cannot be done in the summer months without the heads
re-growing and the worms crawling away. The mole knows the exact
temperature best suited for keeping his meat fresh!

A most interesting and beautiful family of miner-cousins of the moles
are the shrews. They are excavators of great ability, and because of
their nocturnal habits are rarely seen alive. They are very similar to
the mole, though much more handsome. Their domicile is built of dry
grass at the end of a tunnel.

The s