A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK the species found in these islands) refers to V. dasycneme as 'reported to have been cap- tured on the banks of the Stour.'] ' 7. Whiskered Bat. Myotts mystacinus, Leisler. Bell — FesperUlio mystacinus. Mr. H. Laver has met with this species in the Stour valley. INSECTIVORA 8. Hedgehog. Erinaceus europaus, Linn. This animal is certainly far less common than it used to be, and in many parts of the county it has become quite scarce. As pointed out by the late Rev. F. Barham Zincke, in his interesting history of the parish of Wherstead/ the clearing away of the large banks and wide rambling hedges once so prevalent has deprived certain of our reptiles and smaller mammals of secure and con- venient retreats, and has done much towards reducing their numbers. Among these the hedgehog may certainly be included. It has besides many enemies to contend with in its struggle for existence. The gamekeeper persecutes the poor hedgepig most relentlessly for occasional misdemeanours, and others blindly follow his example, killing every one they meet with, regardless of its services as a destroyer of snails, beetles and young field mice. Rabbit-trapping too in- volves the destruction of many of these animals, which often lie up by day in a rabbit burrow, and gipsies with their dogs keep a sharp look-out for them for culinary purposes. The old deep-rooted prejudice against the hedgehog, on account of its supposed habit of sucking cows, still lingers in this county. In some recent correspondence on this subject in the 'East Anglian Miscellany,' ' instances were brought forward of the animal's supposed guilt. 9. Mole. Talpa europiea, Linn. Common everywhere. On the light sandy soil towards the coast, as well as in other parts of the county, moles are found in astonishing numbers, fields and meadows being almost covered with their hillocks. Game-preserving is so universal here, and is carried to such extremes, that most of the creatures appointed by nature to keep down the number of such animals as these and the smaller rodents, have been well nigh exter- 1 'Cf. Buckton, Proc. Linn. Soc. 1853, p. 260, where the species is treated as a variety of F. dau- bentonii. Tomes {Zoologist, 1854, p. 4361) con- sidered it to be dasycneme.' ^ Some Materials for the History of Wherstead, by F. Barham Zincke, vicar of Wherstead. 2 Published once a week in the columns of the East AngUan Daily Times. minated. The Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain in- forms me that near Sibton he has seen four or five hundred moles hung out on some wire fencing, near where mole-catchers have been at work. When the marsh lands are flooded, the moles are sometimes forced by the rising waters to assemble in such spots as are slightly above the general level. Here they attract the attention of the herons, which on such occasions clear off a good many, and numbers of the 'castings' of these birds may be found composed almost entirely of the bones and skins of moles. On some marshes on the coast between Dunwich and Sizewell the writer has seen two or three great black- backed gulls {Larus marinus) waiting for days together about these small temporary islands, the castings or pellets thrown up by these birds affording conclusive evidence of the nature of their diet. Long continued droughts in summer are fatal to large numbers of moles. The worms then descend probably to such a depth that their enemies cannot follow them. At such times these animals often come out upon the surface of the ground, and after searching about for food cannot again pene- trate the hard crust, and soon die. Several cream-coloured moles have been caught near Sudbourne Church, and Mr. W. G. Clarke informs me that the same variety has occurred both at Elveden and on Barnham Common, and that specimens whose fur was of a yellowish tint have been taken at Fakenham. Of late years quite a demand has arisen for mole-skins for converting into furs, and the price has gone up considerably. They were recently (1903) advertised for in the East Anglian Daily Times at 31. per dozen. 10. Common Shrew. Sorex araneus, Linn. Locally, Ranny (applicable also to the other two British shrews). This little animal is met with throughout the county in a great variety of situations. It frequents woods, hedge-banks, cornfields, dry heaths, upland pastures and low wet marshes. After the marsh ditches have been cleaned out, the shrews drive small tunnels in all directions through the mud which has been thrown out, in order to get at the rich feast of aquatic insects and other forms of animal life contained in it. They also burrow through 18
