SHREWS. 121 



cultivated parts of England, and in the southern 

 and part of the middle divisions of Scotland; but is 

 not found in the northern districts of the latter 

 country, nor in the western or northern islands. 



THE SHREWS. 



THE diminutive quadrupeds known by the name of 

 Shrews, or Shrew-mice, are characterized by having 

 the body moderately full, the head conical, with the 

 snout attenuated, the tail long and slender; the feet 

 short with five toes, the claws of moderate length, 

 compressed, curved, and acute. They are also 

 readily distinguishable by the peculiar form and 

 arrangement of their teeth, of which there are, gene- 

 rally, four jagged molares in the upper, and three in 

 the lower jaw, on each side, while the other teeth, 

 or those in the anterior part of the mouth, are four 

 or five in the upper, and three in the lower jaw. 

 These anterior teeth have been variously repre- 

 sented by authors, some consklering them as in- 

 cisors, others as incisors and false molares. The 

 front pair, considerably distant at their base, al- 

 though approximating towards the end, are large, 

 lobed, directed forwards at the base, but curved 



