S O R 



cular rocks. This probably formed a portion of a circle, 

 half of which broke off and funk into the waves, and pro- 

 bably the whole was once the crater of a volcano. The 

 whole foil of the plain is cineritious, and its rocks confiil 

 of a flrong blue lava, except near the eaft end, where they 

 are of a fofter piperino kind. The encircling mountains are 

 compofed of regular calcareous layers ; and the materials of 

 the lower jrround are without doubt volcanical. 



SOREX, or Shrew, in Natural Hijlory, a genus of the 

 Mammalia Fera: clafs and order, of which the followmg is 

 the generic charnder : there are two upper fore-teeth, which 

 are long and bifid ; the lower fore-teeth are from two to 

 four ; the intermediate ones are (horter ; there are feveral 

 tufks on each fide ; the grinders cufpidate. ( See the article 

 Shrew.) Seventeen fpecies are enumerated in Gmelin's laft 

 edition of the Linnacan genera, which are as follow. 



Species. 



Cristatus ; Crafted Shrew. The noftrils in this fpecies 

 are carunculate ;' the tail is ft'ort. It inhabits North Ame- 

 rica. The whole animal is four inches long, and the tail 

 an inch and a quarter : it feeds on roots, and refembles the 

 mole in its face and fnout. 



MiNUTUS; Minute Shrew. The fnout of this fpecies is 

 very long, and it has no tail. It inhabits Siberia, in moill 

 woods, under the roots of trees : it makes its nelt of lichen, 

 coUeAs feeds, runs and burrows quickly ; it bites, has the 

 Toice of a bat, and weighs about a drachm. 



Aquaticus ; Aquatic Shrew. In this fpecies the hind- 

 feet are palmate ; fore-feet are white ; the tail is fhort and 

 white. It is an inhabitant of North America, and is the 

 fize of a mole, 



MoscHATus. Feet palmate, tail flattened, thickeft in 

 the middle. This is called the mufl<y fhrew ; it inhabits 

 about the lakes of Volga and Tanais ; burrows under the 

 banks, with an entrance into the water ; feeds on flags and 

 fifh ; the body of the animal is fcven inches long, and the 

 tail is eight. 



* BicoLOR ; Water Shrew. The tail of this fpecies is 

 of the mean length ; it is nakedifh ; the body is blackilh, 

 beneath it is cinereous ; the toes are fringed. It inhabits 

 Europe and Siberia, near fwamps and rivers ; fwims eafily, 

 often under water : the female has ten teats, and brings 

 forth nine young at a time ; it makes a noife like the chirp 

 of a grafshopper ; the body of the animal is four inches 

 long, and the tail two. 



MuRlNus ; Murine Shrew. The tail is of a middle 

 length ; the body is brown, feet and tail cinereous. It in- 

 habits Java, and is the fize of a moufe. 



* Araneus; Fetid Shrew. The tail of this fpecies is 

 of the middle length ; the body beneath is whitifh. It in- 

 habits almoft every part of Europe, and in the northern 

 climates of Alia ; it lives in old walls, ftables, yards, gra- 

 naries, out-houfes, fwamps, and pools ; it feeds on corn and 

 infefts ; it fmells of muflc ; is killed, but not eaten, by cats ; 

 the voice is fhrill ; it runs much flower than a moufe ; brings 

 five or fix young ones in fpring and fummer ; it is feldom 

 fo long as three inches. There are two varieties. I. Head, 

 and upper parts, dufky ; fides brownifh rufty. This is found 

 in Hudfon's Bay and Labrador. 2. The upper parts are 

 of a duflcy grey, and underneath the animal is of a yellowifli- 

 white. 



SuRiNAMENsis ; Surinam Shrew. The tail of this fpecies 

 is half as long as the body ; the body above is chefnut, be- 

 neath white and ye!lowi(h-grey. It is found, as its fpecific 

 name denotes, at Surinam. 



PusiLLUs ; Timid Shrew. Ears rounded ; tail Ihort, a 



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little fringed at the fides. It inhabits iht northern parts of 

 Perfia, in holes which it burrows ; it is three inches and a 

 half long ; the body is of a dark grey above, and the belly 

 is paler. 



Brasiliensis. The body of this fpecies is brown, the 

 back is black, with three ftripef. It inhabits Brafil, is 

 about five inches long, with a tail of two inches in length. 



ExiLis. The tail of this is very thick in the middle, 

 tapering to each end. It inhabits Siberia ; it is the fmalleft 

 of quadrupeds, fcarcely weighing half a drachm ; it is like, 

 though of a darker colour, the S. araneus. 



C.SRULEUS ; Blue Shrew. The tail is of a mean length ; 

 the upper parts are of a pale blue ; the belly is lighter ; the 

 legs and feet &re white. It inhabits Java, and the other Eaft 

 Indian iflands, feeds on rice, fmells Ifrongly of muik, is 

 eight inches long, with a tail about half that length. 



Mexicanus : Mexican Shrew. The tail is ftiort ; the 

 fore-feet are three-toed ; the hind-fect have four toes. It is 

 found in New Spain ; burrows in valt numbers, feeds on 

 roots and feeds ; the flefh is good ; it is about nine inches 

 long. 



Albipes ; White-footed Shrew. Tail flender, hairy ; 

 upper parts dulky-afh ; feet, belly, and teeth, white. 



QuADRi-CAUDATUS ; Square-tailcd Shrew. The tail, as 

 its fpecific name denotes, is fquarifh ; the head and upper 

 parts are of a dulky-afh ; the belly is paler ; the fore-teeth 

 are brown. 



LuRi-CAUDATUs ; Carinatc Shrew. The tail is taper, 

 keeled underneath ; head and upper parts dufliy-afh, belly 

 whitifh ; fore-teeth brown, a white fpot behind each 

 eye. 



Unicolor. The tail is compreffed at the bafe ; the 

 body is of an uniform dufky-afh. It isobferved by Gmelin, 

 that the laft four, defcribed as diftinft fpecies, are probably 

 only varieties of th« S. araneus. They are all found near 

 Strafburg. 



SOREY, in Geography, a town of France, in the depart- 

 ment of the Meufe ; 3 miles S.S.E. of Commercy. 



SOREZE, a town of France, in the department of the 

 Tarn; 12 miles S.S.W. of Caitres. 



SORG, a town of Germany, in the principality of 

 Anfpach, on the Schwarzach ; 8 miles E. of Schwabac^h. 



SORGANO, a town of the ifland of Sardinia ; 38 miles 

 E. of Bofa. 



SORGE, George Andrea.s, in Biography, a voluminous 

 writer on mufic, and a compofer, born in 1705, and who 

 died in 1778. In Gerber there is a lilt of his works. 



SORGENFREY, or Saxs Souci, in Geography, a town 

 of Denmark, in the ifland of Zealand, with a royal palace ; 

 6 miles N. of Copenhagen. 



SORGHUM, in Botany, a name of oriental or barbarous 

 origin, but venerable for its antiquity. — " Perf. Ench. v. i. 

 lOl." Purfti v. I. 78. (Sorgum; Mich. Gen. 35. Mieg. 

 Aft. Helvet. v. 8. 131. Holcus ; Brown Prodr. Nov. 

 Holl. V. I. 198.) — Clals and order, TrianJria Digynia. Nat. 

 Ord. Gramma. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Glume of two ovate, concave, coriaceous, 

 unequal valves, inflexed at the margin, fingle-flowered. Cor. 

 of two membranous, ovato-lanceolate, rather unequal valves, 

 hairy at the edges ; the innermolt rather the fmalleft, cloven, 

 bearing from its fiffure a twifted awn, twice the length of 

 the glume itfelf. Neftary a thin, awl-ftiaped, villous fcale. 

 Stam. Filaments three, capillary ; anthers cloven at each 

 end, prominent. Pift. Germcn ovate, polifhed ; ftyles two, 

 capillary, ftiort, fprcading ; ftigmas oblong, feathery. Some 

 flowers, elevated on italks, have neither awn nor piftil. Peric. 

 none, except the permanent, hardened, clofed calyx. Seed 



folitary, 



