INSECTIVORA 



all the moles from his walled-in garden. "Experts" told him that the 

 "trouble is you have no moles." Thereupon "he restored the moles and 

 the blight disappeared." The fact that lilacs and most of the usual 

 flowering shrubs of gardens thrive where there are no moles seems to 

 be a serious objection to the truthfulness of the story. However, if it 

 be true it suggests an interesting and important subject for serious in- 

 vestigation. It is known that some plants thrive only on soil which has 

 been recently disturbed. It is not at all impossible that the stirring and 

 aeration of the soil through the operations of burrowing animals may 

 be decidedly beneficial, if not necessary, to some kinds of useful or 

 ornamental plants. 



Scheffer says: "In periods when moleskin garments were in fashion, 

 or when the skins were to be obtained at all, the volume of American 

 business in furs of this class sometimes reached between $2,000,000 

 and $3,000,000 annually. The Biological Survey has found that the 

 skins of the common mole of the eastern United States are well within 

 the class of the imported product . . . while the skins of the common 

 large mole of western Washington and Oregon are larger and have 

 better texture and fur than those of Europe. . . . About $50,000 worth 

 of American moleskins were marketed in 1918, and in 1919 the business 

 increased by nearly 25 per cent. This does not take into account the 

 value of moleskins utilized at home. Furthermore, values of the manu- 

 factured products moleskin garments, fur sets and fur trimmings 

 will approximate at least five times that of the raw peltry." 17 



In 1921 it was estimated that the world's production of moleskins 

 was 6,000,000 per annum, and, according to Laut, 600 are required for 

 a short evening wrap and 1000 for a long one. 18 Actual reported sales 

 of moleskins for the world in 1919-1921 amounted to 23,801,908 

 skins, 19 and the estimate for 1923-1924 was 10,000,000 from Europe 

 and 500,000 from North America. 20 



FAMILY SORICIDAE SHREWS 



Shrews are too small for their skins to have much value, but they 

 live to a great extent upon insects and are very useful animals. An- 

 thony says: "Although living largely on insect food which cannot put 



17 Scheffer, Farmers' Bull., No. 1247, p. 20, 1922. 



18 Laut, The fur trade of America, p. 142, 1921. 



19 Osborn and Anthony, Journ. Mammalogy, in, 226, 1922; Natural History, 

 xxn, 393, 1922. 



20 Innis, The fur trade of Canada, table opp. p. 76, 1927. 



