Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/724

 706 MOLE MOLE the males in the love season often engage in deadly combats. The colors vary ; individuals are seen of white, ash, or fawn color. The soft fur is manufactured into light robes and very fine hats, and has been employed for ar- tificial eyebrows. The mole is frequently very detrimental to cultivated lands, but the loss is more than counterbalanced by the destruction of noxious insects and weeds. The golden moles of Africa (cJiryaochloris, Lacep.) have incisors, the middle lower ones small and narrow, and molars i~^ ; the eyes are covered by skin, nose naked and leathery, fore feet four-toed, with fourth toe very small, hind feet five-toed, and no tail. The best known species (C. Capensis, Desm.) is brownish with green and golden reflections ; it inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and has the form, size, and habits of the mole. The star-nosed mole of North America (condylura, Illiger) has the end of the nose surrounded by 22 movable fleshy radiating filaments, which serve as deli- cate organs of touch; the incisors are, the upper middle ones broad, the lower ones pro- cumbent, canines ^i^, molars yl-f; eves ver 7 small; feet five-toed; tail moderate, thinly haired. The G. cristata (Desm.) is about 4 in. long from tip of nose to base of tail, the latter being 3 in. more ; it has the general form of the moles; the hands resemble those of ter- rapins, and with the hind feet (considerably larger) are furnished on both surfaces with a covering of brown scales, with a horny tubercle on the inner edge of the soles ; the under sur- face of the fingers is extended into fringed horny processes. The fur is rather coarse, and sooty brown. It is found in the north- star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata). a. Jaws. b. End of nose. ern parts of America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The most common American moles belong to the genus scalops (Cuv.), called also shrew moles from the resemblance of their dentition to that of the shrews ; the incisors are, canines |z|, molars |if ; in scapanus (Pomel), set apart for the Oregon and hairy- tailed moles, the incisors are $, canines |r|, and molars fi. In the common mole (8. aquaticus, Cuv.) the teeth are 36, the eyes not covered by integument, tail nearly naked, and feet fully webbed ; the color is dark plumbe- ous, with sometimes a brownish tinge, and the feet and tail are white ; it is between 4 and 5 Shrew Mole (Scalops). in. long, with the tail about an inch; it is found from Canada to Florida, and as far west as the Mississippi. The genus urotrichus (Temm.) has incisors f, canines $z, and mo- lars f if ; the muzzle is prolonged into a cylin- drical tube terminating in a naked bulb ; tail short and hairy. A common species in Japan is the U. talpoides (Temm.), smaller than the common mole. A species ( U. Gibbsii, Baird), 2J in. long, occurs in Washington territory. MOLE, Lonis Mathien, count, a French states- man, born in Paris, Jan. 24, 1781, died Nov. 23, 1855. His father, president of the parlia- ment of Paris, lost his life during the revolu- tion, and the son passed most of his childhood with his mother in Switzerland and England. Returning to France in 1796, he studied at the central school of public works (now poly- technic school), and in 1806 published his Es- sais de morale et de politique, defending mo- narchical theories in politics. Napoleon ap- pointed him auditor and soon afterward mas- ter of requests in the council of state. In 1807 he was made prefect of the department of C6te- d'Or, subsequently became councillor of state and director general of roads and bridges, and in 1813 received the appointment of grand- juge and the titles of count of the empire and commander of the order of reunion. While Napoleon was absent with the army, Mol6 act- ed as one of the council of regency, and at- tended the empress in her flight to Blois on the approach of the allied armies in 1814. By advice of the emperor, Mol gave in his adhe- sion to Louis XVIII., and was called to the municipal council of Paris. On Napoleon's re- turn from Elba, though he refused to sign the declaration of the council of state against the Bourbons, he retained his office of director of roads and bridges, and was made a peer of France. On the second restoration he was renominated to the council of state and con-