4 Adams, Life of the Common and the Lesser Shrew 



1. All individuals examined during and after December 

 are sexually immature. 



2. The genitalia of neither males nor females become 

 atrophied as winter approaches. (The contrary is the case 

 with the Moles that have to husband their resources for 

 the next year.) 



3. The adults do not provide for the winter by 

 reclothing. 



4. The subjoined chart, based on the head-and-bod} 

 measurements of some 500 specimens, shows that indi- 

 viduals reach their full size in the summer, and then 

 totally disappear. 



5. A chart of a similar character, based on the weights 

 of specimens, would show a similar result. 



II. Notes ON Habits. 



During the few days that my captive Common Shrew 

 enjoyed my hospitality he taught me many things, which 

 I hope may be as of much interest to other students of 

 our mammals as they have been to myself 



Found alive in a box-trap on the morning of September 

 28th I took him home, and at noon installed him in a large 

 o-lass jar, with half an inch of sand on the bottom, a 

 handful of hay, and a shallow pan of water. Taking it for 

 granted that he was hungry I dropped in beside him a 

 freshly caught dead shrew of his own size. He immedi- 

 ately flew upon it, attacking the belly first. Having torn 

 this open he paid little attention to the intestines, but 

 went for the kidneys, heart, liver and lungs. Within an 

 hour all these parts and a part of the brain had been 

 devoured, and then he darted about excitedly till he 

 stumbled into the water-pan, and began to lap like a dog, 

 with an extremely rapid movement. He then vomited 



