BRITISH QUAD EUP EDS. 43 



The term "terrestrial" is employed to exclude the bats, whose 

 chief element is the air, and marine (quadrupeds like the seals, 

 whose chief element is the water. Terrestrial Eritish quadrupeds 

 existing: in a wild state at the present day, coming- under the above 

 detiuition, are primarily di\ided by Professor Eell into four orders, 

 which ai'e again subdivided into numerous families, genera, and 

 species. These orders ;ire : — the Insectivora, comprising five 

 species ; the Carnivora, which contains eight or nine species ; the 

 Rodentia, containing twelve species; and the lluminantia, containing 

 three. There are, therefore, of actually wild, strictly terrestrial, 

 quadrupeds in this country at the present day, about 30 species. 

 1 purpose to make a few remarks on each order and on some of the 

 animals comprised in them. 



The order of the Insectivora comprises the hedgehog, the mole, 

 and the shrews, the most familiar of these being the hedgehog and 

 the mole. As the name of the order implies, the members of it 

 feed largely on insects. 



The Hedgehog {Erinacetcs europmm) possesses a wonderful power 

 of defence in virtue of its tough prickly skin, which renders it a 

 formidable antagonist to dogs, and only very plucky ones will kill 

 it. It is easily tamed, and tolerably fearless. Like the rest of the 

 order, hedgehogs live mostly on worms and insects. They hyber- 

 nate and are not often seen in the daytime. Their fondness for 

 milk has no doubt given rise to the fable that they are in the habit 

 of sucking cows, and it seems probable that they may frequent 

 places where cows are kept in the hope of finding drops of milk 

 spilt about. 



The Mole {Talpa europtea) is in many respects a very interesting 

 animal, possessing immense strength, undaunted courage, and in- 

 defatigable perseverance. The engineering skill evinced in the 

 construction of its subterraneous abode is very remarkable. It 

 feeds principally on earthworms and the larvae of beetles and 

 other insects. Many animals avail themselves of their neighbours' 

 labours, and the runs of the mole are used by field-mice and 

 shrews. In one that I examined lately I found little stores of 

 grain at intervals evidently garnered by mice. In the Transactions 

 of the Society for 1883, Dr. Brett records the finding of 30 moles 

 of a white or cream colour in about half an acre of a field of oats. 

 They are very plentiful in this neighbourhood, but one rarely 

 shows itself above ground voluntarily. Albino moles, caught in a 

 hedgerow at Ley Farm on the St. Albans lioad, have been kindly 

 lent to me for exhibition by Mr. Slinn. 



The Shrews, except an occasional dead one in the paths, are not 

 very often seen. The generic name is Sorex. There are three 

 species, the common shrew, the lesser shrew, and the water-shrew. 

 The long snout of the shrews is their most characteristic feature, 

 distinguishing them from the mice. The water-shrew swims and 

 dives with great agility, and is a very pretty object when seen 

 hunting in a small brook or ditch. I have very rarely seen one 

 myself. I believe I saw two in a small brook near Croxley Mills. 



