LADDER 429 



by jerking- the l)0(ly along Avitli its fore feet. It is hairy, 

 having no nnder-fur. 



Harbor Seal Pf^oca vitulina. 



Length, 4 feet. 



ORDER OF INSECT EATERS 



Insectivora 



Chiefly small bnrrowing animals, having glands, where 



their fore legs join the body, that secrete an offensive odor 



which x^rotects them from the attacks of flesh eaters. It is 



not entirely proven that this order lives wholly on insect 



food. 



The Shrew Family 



Soricidae 



(Niunber of Nortli American Species, Twenty) 



Mouse-like heads ; bodies covered with hair. Shrews live 

 in shallow burrows, and their young are blind and naked at 

 birth. 



Short-tailed Shrew Blarina brevicauda. 



Length of body, 3f inches ; tail, 1 inch. 



Least Shrew Sorex personatus. 



Length of body, 2i inches ; tail, 1| inches. 



Mole Family 

 Talpidae 



(Number of North American Species, Eight) 



Common Mole Sea/ops aquaficus. 



Length of body, 4i inches ; tail, 1 inch. 



Having a simple pointed nose; front feet broad and 

 shovel-like ; back feet webbed ; short, naked tail. 



Star-nosed Mole Condylura crisfafa. 



Length of body, 3f inches ; tail, o inches. 



End of snout surrounded by thread-like appendages, 

 arranged in the shape of a star. Tail long and slightly 



