Mole

(mõl.) [From A. S. mal.] (Physiol.) A spot or mark on the skin, or a small excrescence of the cuticle. -[From L. moles.] (Civ. Engin.) A mound, embankment, or pier, formed of large blocks of masonry laid in these a by means of coffer-dams, ., extended in a right line, or as an arc of a circle, before a port or harbor, which it serves to defend from the violence of the waves: thus securing the safety of ships lying within its pale. The term is sometimes used to denote the port, harbor, or haven itself.-[From A. S. mæl. ] (Zool.) A small insectivorous animal, of which there are several species composing the family Talpide. The common Screw-Mole, Scalops aquatic us, of the U. States, which inhabits both dry and wet lands, is about 4 to 5 inches long, and, in search of worms and other insects, forms a road just under the surface of the earth, raising the soil into a little ridge. Its conformation enables him to burrow with great ease, and such rapidity that its pa age through the earth has been compared to swimming. It has no external ear, and its eyes are so minute, and so concealed by its fur, as to have given rise to a belief that it is formed without those important organs. Moles live in pairs, and are chiefly found in places where the soil is loose and soft. The females bring forth four or five young, for the preservation of which the parents construct a habitation, or nest, with great diligence and ingenuity. [s. 610]