WATER-SHREWS KILLING YOUNG FISH. 



I AM sorry to say that the charge of killing 

 young fish stated against that pretty little animal, 

 the water-shrew, is a true one. A pair I kept in 

 confinement some time ago always preferred living 

 minnows and sticklebacks to other food, and would 

 pursue and capture them with all the grace and 

 dexterity of the otter, when placed in the tank of 

 water attached to their cage. I mentioned this fact 

 particularly in a paper I read before the Zoological 

 Society. I have, moreover, seen both the common 

 water-shrew and the oared-shrew (Crossopus re- 

 mifer), when I have been watching by the banks of 

 a stream frequented by them, often plunge into the 

 water and bring out small fish, newts, and insects. 

 Though the shrew is undoubtedly a fish-eater, there 

 is another side of the question which it will be but 

 fair to consider. The larvae of dytiscidse and dragon- 

 flies are also favourite articles of food with these 

 little quadrupeds, and as these are well known to be 



