42 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



ture of moles ; and he tells us that they will run as fast as a 

 horse will gallop. By his observations he rendered essential 

 service to a large district in France; for he discovered that 

 numbers of moles had undermined the banks of a canal, and 

 that unless means were taken to prevent the catastrophe, 

 these banks would give way, and inundation would ensue. 

 By his ingenious contrivances and accurate knowledge of their 

 habits, he contrived to extirpate them before the occurrence 

 of further mischief. Moles, however, are said to be excellent 

 drainers of land ; and Mr. Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, used 

 to declare that if a hundred men and horses were employed 

 to dress a pasture farm of 1500 or 2000 acres, they would 

 not do it as effectually as moles would do, if left to them- 

 selves. " 



The Shrew. The shrew family is a large one and widely 

 distributed over the surface of the earth. The common shrew 

 (Sorex vulgaris) is that best known in England. It resembles 

 the mouse in general form and varies in size and colour, its usual 

 length, including the tail being about four and a half inches. 

 Its body is moderately full, its neck short, its head tapering 

 to a pointed snout, the fore-feet small, the hind-feet larger 

 and the tail shorter than the body. The shrew is generally 

 found either in burrows, or among heaps of stones, or in 

 holes made by other animals ; near dung heaps or hayricks, 

 they are more numerous than elsewhere. Insects are their 

 principal subsistence, but they seem no less fond of grain, 

 and show a pig's predilection for filth of various sorts. Its 

 principal enemies are the Kestrel and the Barn OwL A 

 superstition to the effect that if the shrew should run over 

 the legs of a cow or a horse while reposing on the grass it 

 causes lameness, is also responsible for the destruction of many 

 by ignorant country folk. One species of the shrew enjoys 

 the reputation of being the smallest living mammel; it is but 

 an inch and a half long with a tail of an inch in length. 

 The water shrew is somewhat larger than the common shrew 



