58 
ORDERS OF MAMMALS— MOLES AND SHREWS 
during the next hour, ten feet more. The total 
work consisted of sixty-eight feet of main line, 
and thirty-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 
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. The 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 sharp, 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 1 is found on the Atlan- 
tic coast, from New England northwestward to 
Alaska, and southward through the Appalachian 
Mountains to Tennessee and North Carolina. 
Its color is brown above, and dull gray under- 
neath; head and body, 3f 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 quite 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 frequently 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 2 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 
dull gray underneath, and in size it is the largest 
1. 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. 
1 So'rex per-son-a'tus. 
2 Bla-ri'na bre-vi-cau'da. 
