;o 
MAMMALIA. 
fifteen minutes after the death of the mouse. As soon as he had 
finished eating I again placed him upon the scales and found that he 
weighed exactly 12. grammes — an increase of .80 gramme. 
The Shrew was half an hour in tiring the mouse, and another half 
hour in killing him. But it must be remembered that he was not 
fully grown, and was doubtless, on this account, longer in capturing 
and killing his victim than would have been the case had he been an 
adult. Still, it is clear that a Shrew could never catch mice on open 
ground. His small size, however, enables him readily to enter their 
holes and to follow them to their nests and the remotest ramifications 
of their burrows, where, having no escape, he can slay them with 
fearful certainty. 
The eagerness with which my Shrew pursued the mouse placed in 
his box, and the persistency and success with which he directed his 
attempts to destroy the latter by eating into its head, clearly shows 
that this was not his first exploit in that direction. And the fact that 
Mr. Morden’s Shrews, in Ontario, Canada, acted in the same manner 
proves that the habit is not of local origin. Therefore, it is 
reasonable to infer that the Short-tailed Shrew preys largely upon 
mice, and is, consequently, of great economic value to the farmer. 
Indeed, after the skunk, I am inclined to assign him the first place 
amongst those of our mammals that are beneficial to the agriculturist. 
The Shrews that I have had in confinement have been kept in a 
large box, the bottom of which was well covered with earth and 
dead leaves, fresh from the woods. Water was given them in a 
saucer, which they soon discovered and drank freely. They were 
exceedingly active, but always moved on a walk or trot, or by short 
springs, never proceeding in a series of leaps. Whenever I ap- 
proached the box they would run about with their heads thrown up, 
sniffing the air in various directions, and starting spasmodically at the 
slightest noise. When angry, they utter a shrill, chattering cry. 
I have one alive at the present time. When first put in the box 
he gathered all the leaves and rootlets into one corner, constructing 
