Dec. 1, 1S70.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



273 



THE COMMON HEDGEHOG, 



Erinaceus Europanis, 



TS, by writers of the present day, stated to be an 

 -*■ animal but poorly endowed, as to active offen- 

 sive movements, in the obtaining of its susteuance, 

 the animal food on which it is well known it prin- 

 cipally feeds. 



In proof that such opinions are those now held, 

 I shall quote from Mr. Bell's :t British Quadrupeds." 

 He says of this spine-defended creature : "Deprived 

 of all means of attacking its enemies, of defending 

 itself by force, or seeking safety by flight, this 

 harmless animal is yet endowed with a safeguard," 

 &c. — alluding to the sharp spines and means of 

 erecting them by the skin-muscle — the paniculus 

 camosus — by which the creature passively resists 

 attacks. Now it appears to me that the platitudes 

 which have been written as to the hedgehog's help- 

 lessness and extremely inoffensive character are 

 not worthy of credence. The hedgehog's lumpy 

 exterior is not by any means a measure either of his 

 activity or of his mental capacity— in other words, 

 either of his quickness or of his intelligence. 



Although, as is well known, the hedgehog feeds 

 on the larger-bodied insects, on worms, and on fat 

 mollusca, he is by no means satisfied with such 

 aliment, but actively forages about in search of 

 more substantial fare, and this with voracious 

 appetite. His habits are, however, nocturnal, and 

 he is assisted in his quest by his keen ears, his 

 quick sight, his fine sense of smell, and his sensi- 

 tive and cartilaginous snout, so useful in digging. 

 His feet, with five toes each, and these armed with 

 sharp, long claws, are very effective, not merely in 

 capturing, but also in rending his prey, as may be 

 easily witnessed. 



A redbreast, which came into my house a few 

 days ago, took refuge in a small fernery, or green- 

 house, near a dining-room window. Here he had 

 room to fly about, and he soon became very familiar, 

 eating his food — bread and meat — from a plate, and 

 making himself quite at home. He roosted at night 

 on the wire of a plant-stand, about eight inches 

 from the floor. A young hedgehog, only seven 

 inches and a quarter in length, and which weighs 

 but twelve ounces and two drachms, was rescued 

 from a dog, and placed for safety in the conservatory 

 with the bird. The hedgehog was given for his 

 supper a piece of roast mutton, fully six drachms 

 in weight, and yet he nevertheless succeeded in 

 capturing and completely devouring the robin 

 during the night, merely leaving the strong wing 

 and tail feathers. In the morning piggy was so far 

 from showing satiety in appetite that he was able 

 to eat another portion of mutton fully an ounce in 

 weight. 

 Surely we may, with such an example before us, 



credit some of the popular stories as to this ani- 

 mal's greediness as to food and destructiveness to 

 young game— stories that have been discredited by 

 our scientific inquirers. J. H., M.D. 



PLIES IN LIQUOR. 



TT is a very extraordinary fact that flies have been 

 -"- known to remain immersed in strong liquors 

 even for several months, and afterwards, on being 

 taken out and exposed to the air, have again revived. 

 Some, Ave are told by Dr. Franklin, were drowned 

 in Madeira wine when bottled in Virginia, to be 

 sent to England. At the opening of a bottle of 

 this wine at a friend's house in London, many 

 months afterwards, three drowned flies fell into 

 the first glass that was filled. The doctor says 

 that, having heard it remarked that drowned flies 

 were capable of being revived by the rays of the 

 sun, he proposed making the experiment. They 

 were therefore exposed to the sun upon the sieve 

 which had been employed to strain them from the 

 wine. In less than three hours, two of them by 

 degrees began to exhibit signs of life. Some con- 

 vulsive motions were first observed in the thighs : 

 and at length they raised themselves upon their 

 legs, wiped their eyes with their fore-feet, and soon 

 afterwards flew away. The Rev. Mr. Kirby informs 

 me, that he has made the same observation on flies 

 taken out of home-made wines. He says that many 

 have recovered after having been twelve months 

 immersed. 



Such is the account given by Bingley (Animal 

 Biography, iv. 193, ed. 7) of this singular phe- 

 nomenon, for the accuracy of which the honoured 

 names of Franklin and Kirby are no doubt sufficient 

 guarantees. 



It was my fortune, many years ago, to witness 

 an iustance of this apparent departure from the 

 ordinary laws of nature. It happened thus : my 

 father took me and other members of his family to 

 Portsmouth, to bid adieu to my brother, lately 

 appointed midshipman to H. M. frigate Wanderer. 

 We stayed at the George, the principal hotel, where 

 in due course dinner was served, and among the 

 beverages was champagne. On pouring out the 

 first glass, a common fly was seen to pass out with 

 the wine. My father, whose glass it was, at once 

 transferred the insect to the table, where it lay 

 motionless, the fluid draining from it on to the 

 cloth. What was the surprise of the party, some 

 ten or ' fifteen minutes afterwards, to have their 

 attention called to the fly, and to see it gradually 

 raise itself from its recumbent posture and totter 

 slowly, as drunken flies are wont to totter, across 

 the table. There was no mistake in the matter"; it 

 was, beyond dispute, the identical insect which 

 shortly before had been tightly wired and corked 

 down in a bottle of champagne. 



