MAMMALS 



varying from 'id. to more usually 4^. being 

 paid for each hedgehog slain (Reliquary, xxvi. 

 248, etc.). Mr. E. Brown says that he has 

 known one caught in a trap baited with eggs ; 

 also that one kept in confinement was detected 

 in the act of stealing chickens from underneath 

 a hen (Nat. Hist, of Tutbury, p. 86). 



A favourite spot for the nest is in a garden 

 underneath the branches of an Austrian pine. 

 Here the female may be found with her young 

 snugly ensconced within a great heap of pine 

 needles. 



9. Mole. Talpa europ&a, Linn. 



Locally, Moudiewarp or Moldiwarp. 



Common, especially in the cultivated dis- 

 tricts. Fresh workings may however be seen 

 on bleak hillsides well over 1,000 feet above 

 the sea. When they are found in small num- 

 bers, they are frequently left undisturbed and 

 the ' hills ' spread over the grass as a top dress- 

 ing ; but when too numerous the services of a 

 professional molecatcher are called in. Glover, 

 writing in 1829, says that he has seen an 

 account for mole catching on an estate at 

 Etwall which amounts on an average for the 

 last ten years to more than 10 annually. In 

 1828 it was 11 13*. lod. 



Mr. E. Brown records a white specimen : 

 ' When killed the whole fur was suffused with 

 a rosy blush ' (Nat. Hist, of Tutbury, p. 86), 

 and the Rolleston Hall collection includes a 

 cream-coloured individual. In 1902 three 

 specimens varying in colour from cream to 

 grey were taken not far from Derby (A. F. 

 Adsetts). 



10. Common Shrew. Sorex araneus, Linn. 



Bell Sorex vulgaris (in ed. 2). 

 Locally, Fetid Shrew (obs.), Shrew Mouse. 



An exceedingly common species, and well 

 known to every one on account of the numer- 

 ous dead individuals which may be noticed on 

 roads and paths. 



Mr. E. Brown notes a white variety from 

 the Burton district (Nat. Hist, of Tutbury, 

 p. 86). An analysis of about 127 pellets of 

 the white owl (Strix flammea') from the Dove 

 valley by Mr. L. E. Adams tends to prove 



that in this district at any rate the common 

 shrew may be said to form the staple food of 

 the owl. Remains of no fewer than 337 

 shrews were detected, and in every case the 

 number of remains of common shrews was 

 far in excess of those of any other species. In 

 some cases the proportion was as high as 50 

 to 60 per cent of the whole. 



11. Pigmy Shrew. Sorex minutus, Linn. 



Bell Sorex pygmceus. 



This species has been confounded by earlier 

 writers with the common shrew, but it appears 

 to be generally distributed, although in much 

 smaller numbers, over the southern part of the 

 county at any rate. Probably further research 

 will lead to its recognition in the north as 

 well. 



Mr. Storer finds it not nearly so frequently 

 as the common shrew in the Repton district. 

 In the Dove valley it appears to be rather 

 more numerous, and is preyed upon by the 

 white owl. In a series of about 100 pellets 

 taken in May 1900, and examined by Mr. 

 L. E. Adams, were no fewer than twenty- 

 four skulls of this species. 



In the Ashbourne district it is found, but 

 not commonly, and near Bakewell it is scarce. 



12. Water Shrew. Neomys fodiens (Pallas). 



Bell Crossopus fodiens (1874), Sorex re- 

 miff r and Sorex fodiens (1837). 



This species haunts brook sides, ditches and 

 small ponds, and is found in such localities in 

 the low lying parts of the county. Pilkington 

 (1789) and Glover (1829) include it in their 

 lists, and Mr. J. J. Briggs, writing in 1861, 

 says : ' In the parish of Melbourne I have met 

 with five specimens at various periods of the 

 year. I have even seen it travelling over snow 

 in the winter.' He proceeds to give an ac- 

 count of one of these animals attacking a frog 

 (Reliquary, ii. 33). 



Mr. E. Brown found it by no means un- 

 common in the Burton district. In the Dove 

 valley it is rather scarce, but Mr. Adams has 

 found the skulls in castings of the white owl, 

 and near Ashbourne it has occurred in small 

 numbers. 



CARNIVORA 



1 3. Fox. Vulpes vulpes (Linn.). 



Bell Vulpes vulgaris. 



Thanks to careful preservation tor purposes 

 of sport the fox still survives in considerable 

 numbers in those parts of the county which 

 are regularly hunted, especially the Meynell 



country. On the moorlands however the fox 

 is ruthlessly killed off, and in consequence has 

 become very rare. 



Mr. J. J. Briggs (Reliquary, i. 238) narrates 

 an instance of the fox feeding on strawberries 

 in the market gardens of Melbourne. 



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