THE UNTAMABLE SHREW. 



relative of the mole, he makes long runs, 

 like his cousin, through the soft surface-soil 

 in search of insects ; but, unlike the mole 

 again, he has preserved his small, keen eyes 

 intact, and lives, on the whole, as much 

 above ground as beneath it. Yet his 

 cousinship stands him in small stead with 

 his big purblind relation ; for moles catch 

 and eat shrews in considerable numbers. 

 This is not to be wondered at, perhaps, 

 when one reflects that the unnatural shrews 

 also eat one another. Cannibalism, indeed, 

 is an unamiable trait common to man and 

 the insectivores. Weasels, owls, and cats 

 are also great shrew-killers ; though, strange 

 to say, the shrew, when killed, is by no 

 means always eaten. I put this down in 

 the main to the powerful scent-glands, 

 which run along the side of the body, or 

 occur at the root of the tail, in most species 

 of shrew, and which secrete a very strong 

 and odorous liquid. This liquid, I fancy, 

 is partly protective, partly attractive to the 

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