THE BADGER 5 



The OARED SHREW (Crossopus ciliatus] is the largest of British 

 Shrews ; its total length averages from 5 J to 6 inches, and it derives 

 its popular name from the hinder part of the tail being flattened 

 like the blade of an oar. The term of " Black Water Shrew " has 

 also been given to it on account of the black fur of its back, which 

 is sprinkled with whitish hairs, while that of the belly is interspersed 

 with hairs of a blackish tinge. It and another species of Shrew 

 found in Ireland, called the RUSTIC SHREW (Cor sir a rustica), feed 

 upon insects or their larvae, but they also appear to feed on vegetable 

 matter. 



PARTLY USEFUL AND PARTLY INJURIOUS 



The BADGER (Meles taxus or M. vulgaris), Fig. 4, belongs to 

 the family Felidae, sub-family Mustelina or Weasels, and is about 

 2 ft. 3 in in length. It has a broad, white stripe from its 

 forehead down to the nose, with a longitudinal black stripe between 

 the eye and snout, on each side, dilating as it goes backward until 

 it includes the eye and ear, behind which it terminates. The 

 hair covering the body is harsh, long, scattered, and of three colours, 

 white, black, and red, differing in the proportion of these tints in 

 different parts, black predominating on the inferior. Legs short 

 and stout, paws provided with long curved claws, especially adapted 

 for burrowing. The female brings forth three or four at a litter. 



FIG. 4. THE BADGER. 



On the whole, the badger is a harmless creature, seldom seen 

 unless hunted for, though its haunts are betrayed by the animal's 

 strong smell, due to its having a pouch beneath the tail, from which 

 a fetid fatty humour exudes. During the daytime the badger 

 lives in deep, winding burrows, reposing on a very comfortable 

 bed of hay and grass. At night it comes out to jfeed in thickets, 

 banks or woods, where it dwells, the food consisting of slugs and 



