58 



ORDEKS OP MAMMALS— MOLES AND SHREWS 



during the next hour, ten feet more. The total 

 work consisted of sixty-eight feet of main hne, 

 and thirt}'-six and a half feet of branches, mak- 

 ing in all one hundred and four and a half feet. 

 An observing farmer-boy, named Lawrence 



1. End of nose. 2. Left forefoot. 



STAR-NOSED MOLE. 



Miller, once gave me a clear and intelligent 

 description of a Mole's burrow which he uncov- 

 ered and observed closely. It was a dome- 

 shaped hole, two feet below the surface of the 

 ground, reached from above by a hole that ran 

 down slanting into its top. Tlie burrow was a 

 foot wide at the bottom, where three small gal- 

 leries ran off about six inches, in different direc- 

 tions. Near the top of the chamber was a sort 

 of shelf, supporting a bed of soft material, and 

 on this lay a Mole. The young are usually two 

 in number. 



Besides the Common Mole, of the Eastern 

 United States generally, we have the Prairie 

 or Silver Mole of the prairie regions of the Mis- 

 sissippi Valley; the Hairy-Tailed Mole of the 

 Eastern United States, and the Oregon Mole of 

 the Pacific slope. The Star-Nosed Mole, of the 

 northeastern United States and Canada, is 

 quickly recognized by the remarkable star-like 

 appendage of eighteen ray-like points, with four 

 more between them, on the end of its nose. 



THE SHREW FAMILY. 



Soricidae. 



North of Mexico, this Family contains about 

 thirty-five full species, distributed throughout 

 nearly every portion of North America south of 

 a line drawn from the mouth of the Mackenzie 

 River to Labrador. With most cheerful in- 

 difference, they inhabit mountains, plains, swamp 

 lands and sandy sea-coasts, hot countries and 

 ■cold. Everywhere, however, their noses are 

 long and sharj), their eyes and ears minute, and 

 the colors of all species are very sober, ranging 



from dull gray to brown, and ending in black. 

 There are two species which are so widely dis- 

 tributed they may well be taken as types of the 

 entire thirty-five. 



The Common Shrew^ is found on the Atlan- 

 tic coast, from New England northwestward to 

 Alaska, and southward through the Appalachian 

 Mountains to Tennessee and North CaroUna. 

 Its color is brown above, and dull gray under- 

 neath; head and body, 3 J inches long, tail, If 

 inches. The ground plan of its skull is a perfect 

 triangle spreading thirty-five degrees, and is 

 very flat. Although very soft and fine, its fur 

 is not so velvety as that of a mole. This creat- 

 ure is very small, and cjuite mouse-like in ap- 

 pearance. 



Unlike the mole. Shrews occasionally emerge 

 from their burrows, and wander about near 

 their entrances. But they are exceedingly shy, 

 and although they are frecjuently thrown out 

 by the spade or plough, they are very rarely seen 

 moving about. Above ground they are very 

 helpless, and being unable to run rapidly, they 

 try in a feeble way to hide. When taken in the 

 hand, the musky odor they emit is rather disa- 

 greeable. 



The Short-Tailed Shrew' is another type 

 worthy of special mention. It is readily recog- 

 nized by its very short tail, only 1 inch in 

 length, while its head and body measure 4 

 inches. Its color is smoky brown above, and 

 duU gray underneath, and in size it is the largest 



COMMON SHREW. 



2. SHORT-TAILED SHREW. 



of the Shrews. It is found from the eastern 

 edge of the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast, 

 and is one of the largest members of the Shrew 

 Family. 



' So'rcx per-son-a'tus. ' Bla-ri'na bre-vi-cau'da. 



