flesh. It is likewise found in the woods and fields, where, living on corn, it sometimes conceals itself under moss or leaves, sometimes under the trunks of trees, sometimes in holes abandoned by moles, and sometimes in holes of a smaller size, which it forms for itself by digging with its claws and snout.

The shrew mouse produces, it is said, as many at a birth as the domestic mouse, though less frequently. It has a squeak much more sharp and piercing than the latter. In point of nimbleness, however, it is far inferior; and as it both sees imperfectly, and runs slowly, there is little difficulty in taking it.

The usual color of the shrew is brown, with a mixture of red; others of them are ash-colored; and in all there is a greater or less degree of whiteness upon the belly. They are very common throughout Europe; and in America there are several species of a small size. Among them are the small shrew, and the short-tailed shrew. The first is found on the Missouri, and the latter on the Rocky Mountains. Godman mentions a third species, and Richardson notices two others, the American marsh shrew, and Foster's shrew mouse.

THE MOLE,1

WITHOUT being blind, has such small eyes, and these so concealed, that it was formerly supposed to be able to make.but little use of the sense of seeing; but it is now known that its eyes possess all the qualities necessary to distinct vision. It enjoys also the senses of hearing and feeling in an eminent degree. Its skin is soft as silk; and its paws, which are furnished with five claws, are very different from those of other animals, and almost like the hands of a human being. Proportioned to the size of its body, its strength is great; it possesses the mild habitudes of repose and of solitude; the art of securing itself, of forming, instantaneously, as it were, an asylum for itself; or extending it, and of obtaining, without the necessity of relinquishing it, an abundant subsistence.

The mole shuts up the entry to its retreat, which it seldom deserts, unless forced to it by heavy rains in summer. It is fond of cultivated grounds, and is never to be found in those which are either muddy, hard, compact, or stony. It requires a soft soil, well supplied with esculent roots, and with insects and worms, of which, indeed, its principal nourishment consists.

1

Talpa Europea, Lin. The genus Talpa has six upper and eight lower incisors; two upper and two lower canines; fourteen upper and twelve lower molars. Body thick; head elongated, pointed; muzzle with a cartilaginous button; eyes very small; no external ears; pentadactylous; fore feet very large, with toes united to the nails, which are strong and slightly arched.

In skinning the larvæ of insects, which it always does before it eats them, it displays much expertness; stripping off the skin from end to end, and squeezing out the contents of the body.

As these animals very seldom come above ground, they have but few enemies; and very readily evade the pursuit of animals swifter and stronger than themselves. The chief calamity which befals them is an inundation; and when this happens, they are seen in numbers attempting to save themselves by swimming, and using every effort to reach the higher grounds. The greater part, however, perish, as well as the young, which remain behind in their holes. Were it not for such accidents, from their great fecundity, they would become extremely troublesome. They generally have four or five at a time; and it is easy to distinguish, among other mole hills, that in which the female has brought forth her young. These are made with much greater art than the rest; and are usually larger and more elevated. It is probable they produce oftener than once a year. Thus far, indeed, is certain, that new-born moles are found from the month of April to the month of August; a circumstance which, however, may be owing to their having been engendered and brought forth sooner or later in the year.

The hole in which they produce their young is formed with singular skill, and deserves a particular description. The female begins by erecting the earth into a tolerably spacious apartment, which is supported within by partitions at proper distance, to keep the roof from falling. All around this she works, and beats the earth very firm, so as to make it capable of keeping out the rain, let it be never so violent. As the hillock, in which the apartment is thus formed, is raised above ground, the apartment itself is consequently above the level of the plain, and therefore less subject to accidental slight inundations. The place being thus fitted, she procures grass and dry leaves as a bed for her young. There they lie secure from wet, and she continues to make their retreat equally free from danger; for all round this hill of her own raising, are holes running into the earth, which go off from the middle apartment, like rays from a centre, and extend about fifteen feet in every direction. These resemble so many walks or chases, into which the animal makes her subterraneous excursions, and supplies her young with such roots or insects as she can provide; but they contribute still more to the general safety;, for as the mole is very quick of hearing, the instant she perceives her little habitation attacked, she takes to her burrow, and unless the earth be dug away by several men at once, she and her young always make good a retreat.

Moles live in pairs, between which a warm attachment subsists. They are, however, said to be ferocious, and occasionally to tear and eat each other.

Some authors have said, but without foundation, that the mole and the badger sleep the whole winter. As a proof that the latter quits its hole in

winter as well as in summer, we have only to view the traces it leaves upon the snow. As for the mole, so far is it from sleeping during the winter, that it continues its subterranean operations then as well as in summer; and the peasants of France even proverbially remark, that, "when moles are at work, a thaw is at hand." They are indeed fond of warm places; and the gardeners often catch them round their beds, in the months of December, January, and February. In pasture lands, and in nurseries of forest trees, they do considerable mischief. In 1740, M. Buffon planted sixteen acres with acorns, the greater part of which were speedily carried away by the moles. Not less than a bushel of acorns was found in some of their burrows. The common mole of Europe is supposed not to inhabit America.

Is found in abundance in North America, from Canada to Virginia. It lives principally under ground, in which it burrows with great quickness, by means of its strong and broad hands, armed with sharp claws. These burrows are sometimes very deep, and hills of loose earth are generally found over them. Sometimes one of these creatures shows his head from the centre of one of the hills at mid-day, for the purpose of enjoying the sunshine. They form galleries under ground, by which they can travel in any direction. It is said, that they come to the top of the ground daily, at twelve o'clock.

This animal is covered with a soft, glossy fur; its head is destitute of external ears, though its sense of hearing is very acute. The eyes are so small as scarcely to be perceived. It has great strength and speed,

1 Scalops Canadensis. The genus Scalops has two incisors above and four below; three conical teeth, and three molars, on each side, in both jaws. Lower incisors conical, straight, with two very small intermediate incisors; first and third upper conical teeth on each side, larger than the second; molars crowned with sharp tubercles; muzzle prolonged and cartilaginous; eyes very small; external ears, none; feet short, pentadactyle, the anterior very broad; nails loug, flattened, proper for digging; tail short.

even on the surface of the earth, its movement being the same as when

burrowing.

THE GOPHER MOLE, OR CAMAS RAT.

THIS animal is found on the Columbia and Missouri rivers. It lives beneath the surface of the earth, and eats roots. The head appears large and clumsy, owing to its cheek pouches. The root of the camas plant is its favorite food, from which it derives its name. It is said by Schoolcraft, to employ its pouches in carrying dirt out of its hole, and Richardson adopts this account as true; but an intelligent individual, who has spent much time in the country which it frequents, assures us that he has often seen the gopher at work, and that it brings up the dirt with its broad feet. The quantity that it will throw out in a short space of time, is truly astonishing.

FAMILY II. CARNIVORA.

THESE animals have six incisors in each jaw; molars generally edged; sometimes tuberculous, never rough, with pointed tubercles on their crown; canines very strong.

THE BROWN BEAR.1

THE bear is not only a savage, but a solitary animal; he takes refuge in the most unfrequented parts, and the most dangerous precipices of uninhabited mountains. He chooses his den in the most gloomy parts of the forest, in some cavern that has been hollowed by time, or in the hollow of some enormous old tree. Thither he retires alone, and passes a part of the winter without provisions, or without ever stirring abroad. He is not, however, entirely deprived of sensation, like the dormouse or the marmot, but seems rather to subsist upon the exuberance of his former flesh, and only feels the calls of appetite when the fat he had acquired in summer begins to be considerably wasted.

When this happens, which we are told it generally does at the expiration of forty or fifty days, the male forsakes his den; but the female remains confined for four months, by which time she has brought forth her young.

1 Ursus arctos. The genus Ursus has six upper and six lower incisors; two upper and two lower canines; four to seven upper, and the same number of lower molars. Incisors of the lower jaw on the same line; posterior molars very strong, with a square crown and blunt tubercles; feet pentadactyle, armed with strong nails; body thick; tail short; mamma six; two pectoral and four ventral.

That the latter should not only be able to subsist, but even to nurse her offspring, without receiving herself any food for such a length of time, is highly improbable. When with young, however, it is allowed that they are exceedingly fat, as also that, being covered with a very thick coat, sleeping the greater part of their time, and giving themselves no exercise or motion, they must necessarily lose very little by perspiration.

Though the males of the brown species devour their new-born little ones, when they find an opportunity for it, yet the females seem, on the contrary, to love them with a ferocious distraction. When once they have brought forth, their fury is more violent, as well as more dangerous, than that of the males. Before the young leave the womb, their formation is perfect : and if the fœtus of the bear appears at the first glance unformed, it is merely because there is a want of proportion in the body and members even of the grown bear, and because, which is well known to be the case in all animals, the fœtus, or the new-born animal, is always more disproportioned than the grown animal.

The voice of the bear is a kind of growl, a harsh murmur, which, when enraged especially, is heightened by a clashing of the teeth. Highly susceptible of anger, that anger is always furious, and often capricious. However mild he may appear before his master, and even obedient when tamed, he ought still to be distrusted, still treated with circumspection; nor, on any account, must he be struck on the tip of the nose, or touched on the parts of generation.