356 THE HEDGEHOG. 



assume whenever the Hedgehog chooses to relax the peculiar muscle which governs the 

 spines, and which seems to retain the creature in its coiled attitude. The point of the quill 

 or spine is directed towards the tail. The quill is not unlike a large pin, being sharply pointed 

 at one extremity, and furnished at the other with a round, bead-like head, and rather abruptly 

 bent near the head. If the skin be removed from the Hedgehog, the quills are seen to be 

 pinned, as it were, through the skin, being retained by their round heads, which are acted 

 upon by the peculiar muscle which has already been mentioned. 



It is evident, therefore, that whenever the head of the quill is drawn backward by the 

 contraction of the muscle, the point of the quill is erected in proportion to the force which is 

 exerted upon the head, so that when the animal is rolled up, and the greatest tension is 

 employed, the quills stand boldly out from the body, and present the bayonet-like array of 

 points in every direction. 



These curiously formed spines are useful to the Hedgehog for other purposes than the 

 very obvious use of protecting the creature from the attacks of its foe. They are extremely 

 elastic, as is found to be the case with hairs and quills of all descriptions, and the natural 

 elasticity is increased by the sharp curve into which they are bent at their insertion into the 

 skin. Protected by this defence, the Hedgehog is enabled to throw itself from considerable 

 heights, to curl itself into a ball as it descends, and to reach the ground without suffering any 

 harm from its fall. A Hedgehog has been seen repeatedly to throw itself from a wall some 

 twelve or fourteen feet in height, and to fall upon the hard ground without appearing even to 

 be inconvenienced by its tumble. On reaching the ground, it would unroll itself, and trot off 

 with perfect unconcern. 



The thorn-studded skin of this animal is not without its use even to mankind, and is still 

 employed for various useful purposes. 



In some parts of the country it is used in weaning calves, and is an infallible mode of 

 effecting that object. When the farmer desires to wean the young calf, he fixes a Hedgehog's 

 skin upon the calf's muzzle, so that when it goes to suckle its mother it causes such irrita- 

 tion that she will not permit her offspring to approach, and drives it away as often as it 

 attempts to effect its purpose. It is also used in order to cure carriage-horses of the trouble- 

 some habit of "boring" to one side while being driven, for when fixed on the pole or the 

 traces it gives the animal such effectual reminders whenever it begins to "bore," that it soon 

 learns to pull straight, and thus to avoid the unpleasant aids to memory that bristle at its 

 side. Even to scientific pursuits the Hedgehog's quills are made to render its services, being 

 used as pins whereby certain anatomical preparations are displayed in spirits of wine, and 

 which are not liable to that provoking rust which is so apt to attack metallic pins when 

 immersed in spirits, and which often render the most elaborate dissections perfectly useless. 



Another purpose to which the Hedgehog's skin was formerly applied was the hackling of 

 hemp before it was made up into coarse cloth. This custom was followed by the ancient 

 Romans, but is now obsolete, being stiperseded by artificial instead of natural combs. 



The under surface of the body, together with the limbs, is covered with long bristles and 

 undulating soft hair, which passes rather abruptly into the stiff quills that defend the back, 

 and is so long that it almost conceals the limbs when the animal is walking on level ground. 

 In the adult animal the quills are hard and shining, they thickly cover the entire back and top 

 of the head, and are of a grayish-white color, diversified with a blackish-brown ring near the 

 middle. In the young animal, however, the spines are comparatively few in number, very 

 soft in texture, and nearly white in color, so that for the first few days of their life the little 

 creatures look like balls of white hair. 



The tail of the adult Hedgehog is scarcely visible, being hidden by the bristling quills, 

 which exceed its length by nearly one-fourth. In the young animal, however, the tail is 

 apparent enough, as there are, as yet, no quills to conceal it, and it is carried nearly in a line 

 with the length of the body. The total length of a full-grown Hedgehog is rather more than 

 ten inches, the length of the tail being only three-quarters of an inch, and that of the head 

 three inches. The ears are moderately long in their dimensions, being about an inch in 

 length. 



