74 LLOYDS NATURAL HISTORY. 



down and seize it. In this way (/.^., by watching and jumping 

 down) Buzzards destroy numbers of Rats and other vermin, for 

 which good service they deserve to be protected, instead of 

 being shot and trapped at every opportunity." 



In conclusion, it may be mentioned that in the north of 

 England the Mole is still very often des'gnated by its Saxon 

 name of Moiildiwarp (or earth-turner), while in the west it is 

 more commonly known as the Want^ and in the midland 

 counties as the Hoo7it^ or Woont ; these names being doubtless 

 synonyms derived from the old Danish designation Wand. 



THE SHREWS. FAMILY SORICID^. 



Different as is the appearance of the Moles from the Shrews, 

 the two groups, as already stated, are so closely connected by 

 the Desmans, that we have to resort to details of structure to 

 differentiate them. The Shrews may, however, be distinguished 

 by the circumstance that the skull has no bony zygomatic 

 arches, or cheek-bones, and that its auditory bulla, at the base 

 of the region of the internal ear, is imperfectly, instead of fully, 

 ossified. A more ready means of recognising a member of 

 the present Family is afforded by the characters of the first 

 pair of incisor teeth, which, in both jaws are very much 

 larger than any of the others. In the upper jaw these teeth 

 are curved and hook-like, with a more or less strongly marked 

 basal cusp on the hinder edge ; while in the lower jaw they 

 are elongated and project nearly horizontally forwards, some- 

 times with a slight upward curvature at the tip. Canine teeth 

 are totally wanting in the lower jaw, and in the upper they are 

 similar in character to the outer incisors and anterior pre- 

 molars, so that a Shrew has no tooth which can be termed a 

 tusk. In the lower jaw there are invariably six pairs of teeth, 

 of which the first two are incisors, the third a pre-molar, and 



