420 



SIIKKNV 



>iu;i:\vsi;ri;v 



well developed, external ears usually small ; body 

 mouse-like, covered with hair ; limits short, IH-HI 1 v 

 equal in size, the feet not adapted for digging ; 

 tail nearly naked and scaly. The teeth vary m 

 number from twenty -eight to thirty-two ; the for- 

 mula i. ', o. I p. i m. I shows the numbers of teeth 

 so far as they are constant, v meaning that the 

 incisor- and jiremolars in the upper jaw vary in 

 different g|>ecies. Along the sides of the body, or 

 at the root of the tail, are peculiar glands, whieh 

 secrete a ftiiiil of a very strong odour. The shrews 

 are very widely distributed, being found over 

 North America and the whole of the eastern hemi- 

 sphere except Australia. The Oriental region has 

 twenty eight species, the Nearctic twenty-four, the 

 Ethiopian eleven, and the Palirarctic ten. The 

 classification of the shrews is a matter of extreme 

 difficulty. The family is said to consist of one 

 genus, "eleven sub-genera, and about sixty-five 

 species. 



The Common Shrew (Sorex vulgarit), found in 

 the British Isles and over the whole continent of 

 Europe, has a body about 2f inches long, the fur 

 being generally reddish gray above and gravish 

 below, and a tail about Ij inch long, four-sided 

 with the angles rounded off, and not tapering. It 

 abounds in dry fields, gardens, and hedge-banks, 

 feeding chiefly on insecte, worms, and slugs. It 

 burrows and makes long runs just under the sur- 

 face of the ground. It is very pugnacious, and two 

 shrews rarely meet without one of them being 

 killed and eaten. Its natural enemies are moles, 

 weasels, owls, and cats ; but although killed by 

 these it is not always eaten by them. Great 

 numbers of shrews are often found dead in autumn 



The Common Shrew ( Sortx rulijaru ). 



without apparent cause, a circumstance as yet 

 nnexiilaiiied. The shrew breeds in spring; the 

 female brings forth five to seven young in a nest 

 of soft dry herbage in a hole in the ground. 

 Though harmless and inoffensive, the shrew has 

 long been regarded with dread and aversion (see 

 White's Natural History of Selbornc, Letter 

 xxviii. ). The Lesser Shrew (S. jiygnuriut), another 

 British species, closely allied to the common shrew, 

 bat with a proportionately longer tail and white 

 on the under parts of the body, is the smallest 

 British mammal. The Water Shrew ( Crossopodiu 

 fodient), larger than the common shrew, is not 

 known to occur in Ireland, but is found in Great 

 Britain and over the whole continent of Europe as 

 far north as the shores of the Baltic. Though not 

 absolutely confined to the water-side, it prefers to 

 live there, where it forms its dwelling as a burrow 

 in a soft bank. It feeds chiefly on aquatic insects, 

 molluscs, crustaceans, fish spawn, and even large 

 fish. The Garden Shrew (Crocidura aranra) is 

 common over almost the whole, of Europe, but does 

 not occur in Sweden or in the British Isles. The 

 Tuscan Shrew (f. rtrturn), found in the south of 

 F.urope, from France to the Black Sea, and also in 

 the north of Africa, has a body only al>out an inch 

 and a half long and a tail about an inch, and is the 

 smallest living mammal. The Rat-tailed Shrew 



(C. myoturn), known in India as the Musk-shrew 

 or Musk-rat, is about 6 inches long, and has a 

 strong musky odour. The Musk-rat of Ceylon 

 (Sortx kinitlitinu* or serpcntaritu), a smaller form, 

 is found in Southern India and Ceylon. Two very 

 interesting s|>ecie have been brought from Tibet 

 the Tibetan Water Shrew, with sucking discs on 

 the under surfaces of its feet ; and the Tailless 

 Shrew (Anurosorex mjiiumiues), with a body like a 

 mole, ears entirely concealed, eyes almost imper- 

 ceptible, and feet short and scaly. 



Shrew Mole (Scalops), a genus of insectivor- 

 ous mammals of the family Talpidir, very closely 

 !il lied to the Moles (see MOLE). The tail is short 

 and naked; the muzzle is long and slender, tin- 

 nostrils looking forwards and upwards on the 

 oblique slope at the end of the snout ; the eyes are 

 very small and are hidden in the fur. The teeth 

 are" peculiar in form ; their number is represented 

 by the formula i. f , c. J, p. {, m. {. The feet re- 

 semble those of the common mole, but the toes of 

 the hind-feet are webbed. All the species are 

 American. The Common Shrew Mole, or simply 

 Mole (S. aquaticus), is found everywhere in the 

 United States east of the Mississippi The Prairie 

 Mole or Silvery Shrew Mole (S. argentattut), about 

 7 inches long, is found on the western prairies as 

 far eastwards as Ohio and Michigan. The Texan 

 Shrew Mole (S. Intimaiitit), larger in size and pos- 

 sessing broader fore-feet than any other species, is 

 found in Texas and Mexico. Two other shrew 

 moles have been placed in a separate genus : one, 

 Brewer's Shrew Mole (Scananiit breicerii), closely 

 resembling the common mole externally, but agree- 

 ing in its dentition and haliits with the star-nosed 

 mole, inhabits the eastern United States ; the 

 other, the Oregon Shrew Mole (Scajianus town- 

 sendii), is found plentifully on the banks of rivers 

 on the Pacific coast. 



Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, 

 on the Severn, 36 miles SSW. of Crewe, 42 W. by 

 N. of Birmingham, and 103 N\V. of London. The 

 river here makes a serpentine curve and is spanned 

 by the English Bridge (rebuilt 1774), the \\Vl-h 

 Midge (rebuilt 1795), the iron bow and girder 

 Kingsland Bridge ( 1882), which lead to the suburbs 

 of Abbey-Foregate, Coleham, Frankwell, Cast!.- 

 Foregate, and Kingsland ; and the Greyfriar-- 

 iron foot-bridge (1879). With its steep, narrow 

 streets, and its wealth of black and white half 

 timbered houses, Shrewsbury is picturesque as very 

 few English towns. Its Norman castle, built l>y 

 Roger de Montgomery, xtill stands, though greatly 

 modernised ; and coeval with it is Holy Cross or 

 Abbey Church, belonging to a Benedictine ahl>e\ 

 ( 1083). Of the other eight Anglican churches the 

 chief is St Mary's, Norman to Perpendicular in style, 

 with a Jesse window, the tomb of Admiral Benbow, 

 and a spire 222 feet high. Noteworthy also are 

 the Roman Catholic church (1866), by Pugin ; the 

 council-house (1501-00), where Charles I. stayed 

 in 1642, and James II. in 1687; the old market- 

 house (1595); the new market-hall (1868); the 

 shire-hall ( rebuilt 1836, and again, after lire. IHS3) ; 

 the com exchange (1869); the post-office (1877); 

 the county infirmary (1747-1830); the eye, ear, 

 and throat hospital (1881); the ' Raven Hold, 

 where Fnrqnlmr in 1704 wrote the Hermiting Officer; 

 the 'Quarry,' a pretty park of 23 acres, with its 

 lime-tree avenue (1719) ; a Doric column ( 1816) to 

 Lord Hill, 134 feet high; and a bronze statue 

 ( 1860) by Marochetti of Clive. The county museum 

 and a free library now occupy the old buildings 

 (1630) of the grammar-school, which was trmis- 

 fi-ired to a line new site of 26 acres (now 50 acres) 

 in 1882, since which time the number of the lioys 

 has increased from 170 to over 300.. Founded by 



