THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 169 



afford food for the bats. The Whiskered and Long-eared Bats, 

 which are found in about equal numbers, do not crowd together 

 for warmth like hibernating Noctules, but are scattered singly 

 about the roof and walls, from which they generally hang head 

 downwards, sometimes as much as 100 yards from the mouth of 

 the tunnel. A Whiskered Bat taken on Dec. 26th, 1892, was 

 not in the usual position, but wedged horizontally into a small 

 crevice. When found, the bats are covered with moisture and are 

 very cold and lethargic ; but on being handled their temperature 

 rises rapidly, and they become lively enough in the course of 

 a few minutes. Whiskered Bats which we have taken home 

 from Alderley have flown energetically about a room, but we have 

 never been able to induce them to feed, and they have invariably 

 died in a few days. 



Order Insectivoea. — Family Erinaceid^e. 

 Erinaceus europceus, L. ; Hedgehog. — Common and generally 

 distributed. This species is accused by gamekeepers of destroying 

 eggs and young birds, and is often caught in traps baited with 

 flesh. The Hedgehog is perhaps more indifferent to the presence 

 of man than most wild animals. Coward once came upon one in 

 a dry ditch in Dunham Park, which smelt at his boots and looked 

 up into his face for some minutes, but did not show any sign of 

 fear until he handled it, when it rolled up and remained in that 

 position for some time. 



Family Soricidje. 

 Sorex araneus, L. ; Common Shrew; Nurserow; Nostral. — 

 Common. We have had specimens from many widely separated 

 localities. There is an albino from Picton in the Grosvenor 

 Museum, Chester. The late J. F. Robinson, of Frodsham (' Man- 

 chester City News,* June 30th, 1883), thus describes the old 

 superstition regarding the Shrew : — " I remember well a large 

 ash-tree, which was known as the 'Rock of Ages.' It always 

 puzzled me to know why the small ash twigs and young boughs 

 were gathered and hung upon the shippon roof over the cows 

 about calving time, to ensure freedom from disease, and it was 

 some time before I found out the reason. It was a shrew-ash, 

 and for several generations it was regarded by the villagers as a 

 tree possessing remarkable virtues, because a wretched shrew- 



