32 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



and although it will be impossible to give illustrations of their 

 burrows, they ought not to be passed by without a casual notice. 



The Shrews, for example, are among the burrowers, and al- 

 though their eyes are full and round, their fore quarters of ordi- 

 nary proportions, and their fore feet of the usual shape, there is 

 something about the head, with its long mobile snout, which 

 strongly reminds the observer of the same member in the mole. 

 These pretty little creatures reside within their burrows during 

 the day, and are therefore seldom seen in a living state, except by 

 those who are in the habit of traversing the country by night in 

 search of specimens. Dead Shrews are common enough, having 

 probably been killed by predatory animals, but left uneaten on ' 

 the ground, in consequence of the powerful odor which they 

 evolve. 



At the end of the burrow the Shrew makes its nest, which is 

 composed of dry grasses and other herbage, and is of a partly 

 globular form. 



The Shrew Mole of North America {Scahps aquaticus) is one 

 of the best burrowers among this family, scarcely yielding to the 

 mole itself in the extent of the tunnels which it excavates. Like 

 the mole, it drives its burrows below the surface of the ground, 

 throws up hillocks at intervals, and feeds chiefly on earthworms. 

 The eyes of this creature are very minute, and deeply hidden in 

 the soft fur. Unlike the mole, however, it is in the constant hab- 

 it of coming to the surface of the ground, and passing into the full 

 blaze of the noontide sun. At that time of day the animal may 

 be caught by driving a spade under it, so as to cut oif its retreat, 

 and by flinging it to some distance from its tunnel. 



Mr. Peale mentions that a Shrew Mole in his possession was 

 able to bend the snout to such an extent as to force food into its 

 mouth. The European mole, flexible as is its mobile snout, pos- 

 sesses no such power, but is obliged to perform that task with its 

 fore paws. 



Then there is the Elephant Shrew of Southern Africa {Ma- 

 croscelides typicus), a thick-furred, long-snouted, short-eared bur- 

 rower, which has a rather remarkable method of sinking its tun- 

 nels, first boring a nearly perpendicular shaft, and then driving its 

 burrow at an angle. It is not so devoted to a subterranean exist- 

 ence as either of the preceding animals, and loves to come out of 

 its burrow and bask in j;he genial sunbeams. It is, however as 

 wary as the rest of its kindred, and at the least alarm darts off to 



