hrew mole of North America is a ground-digger of great ingenuity.
He is second only to the mole in the extent and pretensions of his
engineering and tunnelling. His eyes are very small and deeply hidden
in his fur. During the day he constantly comes to the surface of the
earth, and one may catch him by driving a hoe or spade underneath him.

Another underground-dweller is the elephant shrew of South America. He
has a long nose, thick fur, short ears, and, unlike his cousins, he
loves to bask in the warm sunshine. At the least signal of alarm he
darts away to his subterranean home. As a mining engineer he is
unexcelled; he sinks his tunnels by first boring an almost perpendicular
shaft, and then making his burrows at an angle. It is a sad day for
earth-worms when he decides to locate in their vicinity!

It is not an easy task to classify the homes of animals. Many of them
have characteristics that entitle them to be placed under several
groupings. The otter, for example, might be classed as a cave-dweller,
as he seeks refuge in caves; yet he also rears his young in underground
nests as a burrowing animal. But few naturalists believe that he does
his own digging. This is not surprising when we remember that there are
many other animals that live in caves and grottoes, and like the otter,
seek ready-made homes for their convenience. Among these may be
mentioned three American salamanders, bats, and a few strange mice, who
seek darkness and constant temperature, and therefore find caves best
suited to their needs.

The same is true of the weasel, who is thought to be a great burrower,
but in fact, like our remote cave-dwelling ancestors, makes his home
only in caves, in rocky crevices, and under the gnarled roots of old
trees. He is a bright-eyed little creature, with a slender snake-like
neck and red body. He is a great friend of mankind, as he does more
toward eradicating mice and other nocturnal depredators than all the
rat-catchers in the land. His home is quite ordinary compared to that of
the more ambitious underground-dwellers.

A near cousin of the weasel, and a most ingenious engineer and miner, is
the badger. He is a tenement-dweller and builds his home in the deep,
shady woods. His home is rather pretentious with several chambers, and a
most delightfully furnished nursery which is warmly padded with dry
grass and moss.

The badger, once so plentiful in England and America, is fast passing
away because of the