MAMMALS varying from 'id. to more usually 4^. being paid for each hedgehog slain (Reliquary, xxvi. 248, etc.). Mr. E. Brown says that he has known one caught in a trap baited with eggs ; also that one kept in confinement was detected in the act of stealing chickens from underneath a hen (Nat. Hist, of Tutbury, p. 86). A favourite spot for the nest is in a garden underneath the branches of an Austrian pine. Here the female may be found with her young snugly ensconced within a great heap of pine needles. 9. Mole. Talpa europ&a, Linn. Locally, Moudiewarp or Moldiwarp. Common, especially in the cultivated dis- tricts. Fresh workings may however be seen on bleak hillsides well over 1,000 feet above the sea. When they are found in small num- bers, they are frequently left undisturbed and the ' hills ' spread over the grass as a top dress- ing ; but when too numerous the services of a professional molecatcher are called in. Glover, writing in 1829, says that he has seen an account for mole catching on an estate at Etwall which amounts on an average for the last ten years to more than 10 annually. In 1828 it was 11 13*. lod. Mr. E. Brown records a white specimen : ' When killed the whole fur was suffused with a rosy blush ' (Nat. Hist, of Tutbury, p. 86), and the Rolleston Hall collection includes a cream-coloured individual. In 1902 three specimens varying in colour from cream to grey were taken not far from Derby (A. F. Adsetts). 10. Common Shrew. Sorex araneus, Linn. Bell Sorex vulgaris (in ed. 2). Locally, Fetid Shrew (obs.), Shrew Mouse. An exceedingly common species, and well known to every one on account of the numer- ous dead individuals which may be noticed on roads and paths. Mr. E. Brown notes a white variety from the Burton district (Nat. Hist, of Tutbury, p. 86). An analysis of about 127 pellets of the white owl (Strix flammea') from the Dove valley by Mr. L. E. Adams tends to prove that in this district at any rate the common shrew may be said to form the staple food of the owl. Remains of no fewer than 337 shrews were detected, and in every case the number of remains of common shrews was far in excess of those of any other species. In some cases the proportion was as high as 50 to 60 per cent of the whole. 11. Pigmy Shrew. Sorex minutus, Linn. Bell Sorex pygmceus. This species has been confounded by earlier writers with the common shrew, but it appears to be generally distributed, although in much smaller numbers, over the southern part of the county at any rate. Probably further research will lead to its recognition in the north as well. Mr. Storer finds it not nearly so frequently as the common shrew in the Repton district. In the Dove valley it appears to be rather more numerous, and is preyed upon by the white owl. In a series of about 100 pellets taken in May 1900, and examined by Mr. L. E. Adams, were no fewer than twenty- four skulls of this species. In the Ashbourne district it is found, but not commonly, and near Bakewell it is scarce. 12. Water Shrew. Neomys fodiens (Pallas). Bell Crossopus fodiens (1874), Sorex re- miff r and Sorex fodiens (1837). This species haunts brook sides, ditches and small ponds, and is found in such localities in the low lying parts of the county. Pilkington (1789) and Glover (1829) include it in their lists, and Mr. J. J. Briggs, writing in 1861, says : ' In the parish of Melbourne I have met with five specimens at various periods of the year. I have even seen it travelling over snow in the winter.' He proceeds to give an ac- count of one of these animals attacking a frog (Reliquary, ii. 33). Mr. E. Brown found it by no means un- common in the Burton district. In the Dove valley it is rather scarce, but Mr. Adams has found the skulls in castings of the white owl, and near Ashbourne it has occurred in small numbers. CARNIVORA 1 3. Fox. Vulpes vulpes (Linn.). Bell Vulpes vulgaris. Thanks to careful preservation tor purposes of sport the fox still survives in considerable numbers in those parts of the county which are regularly hunted, especially the Meynell country. On the moorlands however the fox is ruthlessly killed off, and in consequence has become very rare. Mr. J. J. Briggs (Reliquary, i. 238) narrates an instance of the fox feeding on strawberries in the market gardens of Melbourne. 153 20
