Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-12-21
SHREWS OF BRITAIN.
Generally Called Mice, But Little
Animals Are Not Rodents,
from the National Review.

From the National Review
In this country We have only three well
known shrews, the common shrew, the
pismy or lesser shrew and the water
shrew, but "A fourth species under the
name 5. grant,, has lately been described
by Mr.. Ogilvie-Grant from Islay. in the
Inner Hebrides, and races not sufficiently
distinct to receive specific names have
been found on the other islands This is
al illustration OF our scanty fauna, for
otner countries have many more, and the
family, Sorfcidae, is widely distributed,
and numbers-roughly-ab seventy spe-
cies.
10 most people the common shrcw is
known from the numbers found living dead
on roads and paths i'm the autumn. and
by the shrill and persistent saueaking it
gives vent 10 as 1t runs TO and fro along
its twisting paths through the grass and
the nedee bottoms; but here popular
knowledge ceases. and what people do not
Know they generally supply from their
imaglnations, so the tales concerning this
niue animal are many and weird, though
the spread of education has shown the
rising generation the fooiishness of the
most extraordinary. They no longer, as
related by Gilbert White, believe that If
shreW runs over u cow or horse it will
atnict the animal with pains and an
guish." only TO be relieved by strokin- the
part with a bough from a "shrew-ash."
i.e-. tree In which u hole had been bored.
a shrew inserted alive. plugged UP with
suitable lamentations, and left to die. but
they still regard it as mysterious las I'm
some respects it is even to the scientists)
and somewhat uncanny. Even the school
boy. who SO often keeps pet mice and
birds, has nothing to tell about the COM
mon shrew, unless 1t be that when he
caught one and shut 1t up in a cage with
cheese and bread to eat, such as would
have pleased his other mice, it did not
touch the food and died In Il few hours.
The fact of the matter is that all the
shreWs are difficult to keep In captiyity
especially the common one, and as they
are strictly insectivorous in their diet they
have to be plentifully supplied with
worms, grubs and insects, and i'm no
small quantities, too, for. considering their
size, they have enormous appetites.
Given suitable food and surroundings.
the common shrew can be kept in a cage.
and then becomes very tame and cheeky.
in the garden by man who was moving
some rather long grass and saw little
thing slipping away like shadow
through the grass stems; he bounced on
1t, and came running to the house with it
i'm his hand to know if l wanted "a
mouse lot pIOlOSidpA ~ luot lliilo
I was making u set of photographs of
mice, and had a scale of rewards for the
different kinds. 1 was afraid that the
shrew would be hurt pinched IN It's CAP
tors clumsy grasp but / put it into a
glass-sfded fern case, where lived num-
Der of frogs. blindworm, and two or
three different kinds of toads. The little
creature which was an immature one in
light-colored summer coat, raced round to
explore its new quarters; 1t smeit here
and there. its little snout quivering all the
time, then it dived under the moss,
whence 1t brought out worm that had
been intended for frog and ate II next It
went back under the moss and discovered
the hiding place of mud frog. l DO
not know what 1t did to the unfortunate
creature. but next moment piercing
scream of anguish filled the room. and In
q minute the moss heaved and the frog