330 THE INSECTIVORES 



writes that "although underground life does not appear to be as attractive to 

 it as to its relatives the moles, yet it avoids too much exposure, and commonly 

 moves, by night and by day, under cover of the fallen leaves, twigs, and other 

 de'bris that always cover the ground in our northern forests. The naturalist well 

 knows that, however cautiously he may walk, the stir of his footsteps puts to flight 

 many forms of life that will reappear as soon as quiet is restored ; therefore in his 

 excursions through the woods, he waits and watches, frequently stopping to listen 

 and observe. While thus occupied, it sometimes happens that a slight rustling 

 reaches his ear. There is no wind, but the eye rests upon a fallen leaf that seems 

 to move. Presently another stirs, and perhaps a third turns completely over. 

 Then something evanescent, like the shadow of an embryonic mouse, appears and 

 vanishes before the eye can catch its perfect image. Anon the restless phantom 

 flits across an open space, leaving no trace behind. But a charge of fine shot 

 dropped with quick aim upon the next leaf that moves will usually solve the mystery. 

 The author of the perplexing commotion is found to be a curious sharp-nosed crea- 

 ture, no bigger than one's little finger, and weighing hardly more than half a 

 dram. Its ceaseless activity, and the rapidity with which it darts from place to 

 place, are truly astonishing, and rarely permit the observer a correct impression of 

 its form. Whenever a tree or a large limb falls to the ground these shrews soon 

 find it, examining every part with great care, and if a knot hole or crevice is 

 detected leading to a cavity within, they are pretty sure to enter, carry in materials 

 for a nest, and take formal possession. . . . Not only are these agile and rest- 

 less little shrews voracious and almost insatiable, consuming incredible quantities of 

 raw meat and insects with great eagerness, but they are veritable cannibals withal, 

 and will even slay and devour their own kind," 



The marsh-shrew (S. palustris) from the Rocky mountains, together with the 

 swimming shrew (S. hydrodromus] from one of the Aleutian islands, differ from the 

 other members of the genus in having their feet provided with fringes of long hair 

 to aid them in their aquatic life. 



THE SHORT-TAILED OR EARLESS SHREWS 

 Genus Blarina 



With the exception of the water-shrews, the only other members of the red- 

 toothed section of the family to which we shall allude are the so-called short-tailed 

 and earless shrews, of North and Central America. These shrews are readily dis- 

 tinguished by their short tails and the truncation of the upper part of their ears ; 

 some of them having the same number of teeth as the typical shrews, while in others 

 the number is reduced to thirty. The variation in the size of the different species 

 of this genus is nearly as marked as in the preceding one. 



The common short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda*) occurs in the Adirondack 

 mountains, near New York, and is remarkable for remaining active during the 

 whole of the rigorous winters of these regions, having been observed running about 



