Mole (skin)

“ When a mole is taken out of the ground, very little earth clings to it. There is always some on its great digging claws; but very little indeed on its fur, which is beautifully formed to prevent such accumulation. The fur of most animals “sets” in some definite direction, according to its position on the body; but that of the mole has no particular set, and is fixed almost perpendicularly on the creature’s skin, much like the pile of velvet. Indeed the mole’s fur has much the feel of silk-velvet ”

“ The fur of the mole is noted for its clean, velvety aspect; and that an animal should be able to pass unsoiled through earth of all textures is a really remarkable phenomenon. It is partly to be explained by the character of the hair, and partly by that of the skin. The hair of the mole is peculiar on account of its want of "set." The tops of the hairs do not point in any particular direction, but may be pressed equally forward or backward or to either side. ”

“ MO′LASSES. See Treacle.
MOLES. The small, soft excrescences and discolorations of the skin which are popularly known under this name may, when slight, be removed by touching them every day with a little concentrated acetic acid, by means of a hair pencil, observing due care to prevent the application from spreading to the surrounding parts. This does not discolour the skin. The application of lunar caustic is also very effective, but it turns the spot temporarily black. In the pure mole there is always a considerable production of hair. ”

“ Of all animals the mole is the most profusely furnished with generic organs, and of course with the relative sensations. The senses of hearing and feeling it enjoys in an eminent degree; a skin as soft as velvet, and its little paws, with five claws, are very different from other quadrupeds, and nearly resemble the hand of a human being; they have great strength in proportion to the size of their bodies, and so strong and reciprocal an attachment subsists between the male and female, that they seem to have a dread of, and a disgust to, all other society. ”

“ Many persons have been struck with such admiration for the fur of the mole, that they have been desirous of having a number of the skins collected and made into a waist-coat. This certainly can be done, but the garment thus made is so very hot that it can only be worn in winter. Such garments are very expensive, and owing to the tender quality of the skin, possess but little lasting powers. There is also a wonderfully strong smell about the mole; so strong, indeed, that dogs will sometimes point at moles instead of game, to the great disgust of their masters. ”

“ A mole on the midst of the breast, declares a man to have a good utterance, and eloquent in speech, fit to manage affairs, wherein the rise of the tongue is most required, but in a woman it is not good.
A mole on the left side the back, signifies to a man poverty and crosses through his own negect and unadvisedness; to a woman the like.
A mole on the skin-bone either right or left, denotes a man to be rash, sturdy bold, and one much given to quarrel by persuming upon his strength, whereby he shall fall into tribulation; and the like pertends it to a woman. ”

“ A mole on a person’s skin, whatever its place or proportions, is in the Hebrides never reckoned a deformity. It is regarded rather as a “beauty spot” than otherwise, and believed to betoken a long life and good luck to the fortunate possessor. In the West Highlands and Hebrides such a mark on the skin is called a ball-dobhrain, an otter mark or otter spot, and is no more accounted a blemish or deformity than was the mole on the right lip of Dulcinea del Toboso by Don Quixote, though it looked “like a whisker, and had seven or eight red hairs in it above a span long!” ”

“ The congenital growth rarely increases in extent, except as the body grows larger, but often the pigmentation becomes more pronounced and the hair begins to grow coarser in adult life. The development of small hairy moles upon the face of elderly
Fig. 29.
women, especially those suffering from hypertrichosis, is very frequently noted.
In the treatment of the pigmentary mole, acids or the electrolytic needle may be employed. For small, round, dark spots on the skin a minute drop of nitric acid, applied with a wooden toothpick, will often suffice to remove the blemish. ”

“ Just how this belief originated it is hard to tell, but the fundamental idea is that moles are placed upon the body to foretell an event or decide the characteristics of a person.
In some countries moles are regarded with reverence, and the hair which grows in tufts from the moles is never pulled out or shaved. In Latin countries it is a common sight to see men with clean-shaven faces but with a mole on cheek or chin from which the hair is allowed to grow quite long. ”

“ The lesion consists in an overgrowth of epidermis which often presents an alveolar arrangement. Moles vary greatly in size: some are mere dots, others are as large as the palm of the hand, and occasionally a mole covers half the face. In addition to being unsightly, they bleed freely when abraded, are liable to ulcerate from friction and pressure, and occasionally become the starting-point of melanotic cancer. Rodent cancer sometimes originates in the slightly pigmented moles met with on the face. ”

“ If you have a large and really disfiguring mole on your face have it removed by a surgeon. The younger you are the better will be the result of the operation. A minute scar will be left where the cut was made, but if the mole was removed early in life the scar will be a small linear mark often quite unnoticeable. These big moles are, in themselves, somewhat dangerous, for in elderly people they occasionally develop into cancers. ”

“ If hairs grow upon the moles, they must be removed if possible. The only safe way (excluding electrolysis which is rarely called for) to treat the hairs on moles is to cut them short. You should never irritate a mole by pulling hairs out. ”

“ The best way to remove the hair which grows upon moles is to shave it off or bleach it with peroxide of hydrogen. Electrolysis is sometimes used to destroy hairs on moles, but it is infinitely inferior to, and more dangerous than, excision of the whole mole. Moles very rarely grow quickly; indeed, usually they grow less rapidly than does their bearer. If you have a mole which suddenly begins to grow rapidly, go to a surgeon at once, for in all probability it has altered its character and become a serious disease. ”

“ Lastly, no child continues in the womb more than eleven months, but a mole continues for four or five years, more or less, sometimes according as it is fastened to the matrix; and I have known a mole pass away in four or five months. If, however, it remains until the eleventh month, the woman's legs grow weak and the whole body wastes away, but the stomach still increases, which makes some women think that they are dropsical, though there is no reason for it, for in dropsy the legs swell and grow big, but in a mole they wither and fall away. ”

“ When the animal is removed from the earth the snout and palms soon become peculiarly dry, and this evidently causes pain and irritation. The hind-feet are only about one-quarter the size of the hands. They are webbed, but are not so [Pg 324] strong, and have more slender nails. The broad front feet, or hands, fitted for digging, indicate the underground life of the mole; the webbing of the hands and feet suggest, what we find to be true, that the mole is a good swimmer. ”

“ If it were not for this, the mole would be always cutting itself with sharp flints as it dug its way through the ground. Notice, too, how both the eyes and ears are hidden away under the fur, so that fragments of earth may not fall into them. Nature has been very careful to suit the mole to the strange life which she calls upon it to lead.
Perhaps no animal is so strong for its size as the mole. Its muscles and sinews are so hard that they will turn the edge of a knife. ”

“ Why, a mole—let’s see, a mole—why a mole is a mole,” answered Gogo.
“I’ll tell you what a mole is like,” laughed the Doctor, who had overheard the Dunce’s question. “A mole is an animal almost the size of a rat and he lives under the ground. He has very small eyes and ears, and he very seldom comes out in the day time, for it is pretty hard for him to see in the bright sunlight. He has very short and powerful legs with which he can dig very fast. He lives on worms and grubs and roots, and he is usually very gruff and bad-tempered.” ”

“ The mole, too, is a scirrhous tumour, forming sometimes at the mouth and sometimes in the body of the womb, conveying to the touch the sensation of stone, and being attended with retraction of the parts above, and emaciation, paleness, loss of appetite, retention of the menses, and swelling of the breasts, so as in certain cases to raise suspicions at first of a conception ”

“ Referring more fully to the European species, it may be mentioned that the mole exhibits in its organization perfect adaptation to its mode of life. In the structure of the skeleton striking departures from the typical mammalian forms are noticeable. The first sternal bone is so much produced as to extend forward as far as a vertical line from the second cervical vertebra, carrying with it the very short almost quadrate clavicles, which are articulated with its anterior extremity and externally with the humeri, being also connected ligamentously with the scapula. ”

“ It most often appears in the early years of life, sometimes in relation to a pigmented or hairy mole. It is of slow growth, may remain stationary for long periods, and has little or no tendency to become malignant. ”

“ Such fanciful and silly people, when time and experience have something allayed their ardour, will often find their dainty taste offended at discovering a mole on the bosom, or a yellow shade in the neck, or any other trifling bodily blemish, which was as visible before marriage as after, had they looked with the same scrutinizing eyes. ”

“ To cure toothache, suspend to your neck the tooth of a live mole. Lymphatic people will gain in strength if sprinkled with a mole's blood. The ashes of a mole are a sovereign remedy for scrofula; some recommend for this disease the animal's liver, others the right foot, and others the head. The earth of mole-hills, fashioned into pastilles, and preserved in a tin box, is an excellent cure for all kinds of tumours, and especially for abscesses on the neck. ”

“ Its movement was rather slow and awkward, owing to the fact that the fore legs were set on each side of the body, like flippers, which was an excellent arrangement for digging, but a very bad one for plain walking.
The mole had not advanced more than a yard or so along the main tunnel when again that strong, musky smell smote his nostrils. This time it was fresh and warm. Indeed, it was startlingly imminent. Elongating his soft body till it was not more than half its usual thickness, the mole doubled in his tracks, intent upon the speediest possible retreat. ”

“ The mole is a reversible machine. He can run forward or backward at will. Probably as a result of this habit, it is wonderful how alike are the two ends of his body, his nose and his tail. Each is slender and each is bare; each is very sensitive, and the tail is just about as long as the nose. I think he uses whichever happens to precede, as a feeler, when he is making his way through his tunnel. ”