86 COMMON AMERICAN SHREW MOLE. 



prise saw him insert his fore-paws or hands, between the wires, and force 

 them apart suiRciently to give him room to pass out through them at 

 once, and this without any great apparent effort. It is this extraordinary 

 muscular power in the fore-paws and arms, that enables the Shrew Moles 

 to traverse the galleries they excavate, Math so much rapidity, in doing 

 which they turn the backs of their palms or hands toward each other, 

 push them forward as far as the end of their snout, and then open and 

 bring them round backward, in the manner of a person mo\'ing his hands 

 and arms when swimming. When running along on the sui'face of the 

 ground, they extend the fore-legs as far forward as they will reach, turn- 

 ing the backs of the hands or paws (as just mentioned) towards each 

 other, and placing them edge-wise, instead of flat on the earth as might 

 be supposed, and in this manner they run briskl)', and viithout any 

 awkward movement, crossing beaten-roads, or paved walks, and sometimes 

 running swiftly twenty or thirty feet before they can get into the ground. 



The Shrew JNIole varies somewhat in its habits, according to our obser- 

 vations, for while a solitary individual ^\•ill occasionally for some ■weeks, 

 occupy and root up a large plot of grass, or a considerable portion of a 

 garden, and on his being caught in a trap, the place will remain free from 

 fresh Mole-tracks for a long period, proving that all the mischief was the 

 ■«rork of a single Mole, at other times we have caught several out of one 

 gallery on the same day ; and while excavating a root-house, the lower 

 part of which was rock, four of these animals came during the night 

 through one gallery and tumbled down into the pit, where, the rock pre- 

 venting their digging a way out, thej^ were found in the morning. No 

 others ever came through that gallery, while the cellar was in progress, 

 and those thus caught may probably have been one family. 



Although generally known to run through the same galleries often, so 

 much so, that the most common method of capturing them, is to set a trap 

 anj-vvhere in one of these tracks, to intercept them when again passing 

 through it, we have knowTi a trap to remain set in a fresh track for eleven 

 days before the animal passed that way, when it was caught ; and we 

 are of opinion that many of their tracks are only passed through once, as 

 this animal is known to travel from one field or wood to another, and pro- 

 bably the only galleries they regularly traverse, are those adjacent to the 

 spot they have selected for rearing their young. In relation to this sub- 

 ject. Dr. GoDMAN says — 



"It is remarkable how unwilling they are to relinquish a long frequent- 

 ed burrow ; I have frequently broken down, or torn off the surface of the 

 same burrow for several days in succession, but would always find it re- 

 paired at the next visit. This was especially the case with one individual 



