54 SORECID.E. 



in support of this I may state that I have never found this odour in 

 English bottled liquor. I notice that Kelaart also scouts the idea of the 

 scent passing through the bottles, but thinks that it may pass through 

 a bad cork in the bottle. I think that this is not so probable as the 

 former supposition. 



Horsfield, in his Catalogue, considers S, htdicus, yq\ Sonneratii, Is. 

 Geoffroy, as distinct from ccerulescens. Is. GeofFroy states that his S. 

 Sonneratii is smaller than cwrvJescenSy and with the tail always one 

 quai'ter of the entire length ; fur, ashy, washed with russet-brown, pale 

 ashy below. From the Coromandel coast. I have followed Blyth and 

 Tomes in joing this to ccerulescens. 



70. Sorex murinus. 



LiNN^us. — Blyth, Cat. 246. — S. myosurus, Pallas. — aS'. Svjinhcei, 

 and S. viridescens, Blyth (olim). 



The Mouse-coloured Shrew. 



Bescr. — Brownish, or dark brownish-gray above, grayish-brown be- 

 neath, the fur longer and coarser than in cceridescens ; ears, larger ; tail 

 nearly equal in length to the body, rounded, thick at the base, nearly 

 nude, with a few longish hairs scattered over it ; feet and tail, fleshy. 



Length of one, head and body, 5 inches ; tail, 3 ; but larger speci- 

 mens are met with. 



This is the common large musk-rat of China, Burmah, and the 

 Malayan countries, extending into Lower Bengal and Southern India, 

 especially the Malabar coast, where it is said to be the common species, 

 the bite of which is considered venomous by the natives. The musky 

 odour of this shrew is much less powerful than in cceridescens. 



71. Sorex nemorivagus. 



Hodgson, Cal. Jour. Nat. Hist. IV. 288.— Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 

 XV. 269. — S. murinus from Nepal, apud Horsfield 1 



The Nepal Wood Shrew. 



Descr. — Similar to S. murinus, but of stouter make, with smaller 

 ears ; legs, entirely nude ; a longer and more tetragonal tail ; colour, 

 sooty black, with a vague reddish smear, or shining rvifescent-brown, 

 paler beneath ; nude parts, fleshy-grey. 



Length of one, head and body, 3| inches; tail, 2; foot, iQ-ths. 



