HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



177 



unattached end. The root is formed by a slightly- 

 knobbed'projection, which passes through the skin, 

 and is inserted into the fascia of a broad, flat 

 muscle, forming! a band extending beneath the 

 whole spine-covered surface, and by means of 

 which the spines can be simultaneously raised, and 

 kept stiff and unyielding when the animal curls 

 itself into its characteristic defensive attitude- 

 These spines are possessed by the young from 

 birth, though for a short time they have more the 

 character of thick coarse hair, which gradually 

 hardens to the consistence of spines. At three 

 weeks old the young, generally three to five in 

 number, and born in July or August, are'quite able 



and sometimes is fastened to the pole of a carriage 

 to prevent the horses rubbing against it ; but these 

 are the only uses to which the Hedgehog is put iu 

 England, though I believe it is eaten in some 

 countries by the poor, and perhaps in our own by 

 the gipsies. 



This is but a very short and bare summary of the 

 natural history of the Hedgehog, but it may prove 

 interesting to some few of those contributors to 

 Science-Gossip who have lately been inquiring 

 about the habits of the animal, and fiom whose 

 answers I have gathered several new facts in rela- 

 tion to its life history. 



Chas. W. Whistler. 



Fig. 102. Common Hedge-hog {Erinaceus Europwus\ 



to follow the wanderings of their parents, of whom 

 they are exact miniatures in every respect, and 

 are quite as well protected. How long the life 

 of a Hedgehog lasts is not, I think, determined. 

 Those which are kept in captivity seldom live for 

 long, perhaps because unnaturally deprived of the 

 long period of winter dormancy by the warmth of 

 the kitchens iu which they are generally kept to 

 destroy the beetles. 



la common with the other British Insectivora the 

 " Urchin" has been the object of several mistaken 

 notions, among which is the idea that it robbed the 

 cows of their milk whilst sleeping. This is still 

 believed in some parts of the country, and may be 

 classed with the superstitious dread of the shrew> 

 and the old belief in its hurtful touch. The skin is 

 used sometimes as a muzzle when weaning a calf, 



THE MICROSCOPE AND MICROSCOPIC 

 WORK. 



No. VIII.— By F. Kittox, F.R.M.S. ' 



IN the previous number it was suggested that the 

 correspondent "A. Y." of the Gentleman's 

 Magazine might be identical with the M. Joblot 

 mentioned by Mr. Baker. This we are now inclined 

 to think is not the case. 



M. Joblot published in 1718 his "Descriptions 

 et Usages de plusieurs nouveaux Microscopes tant 

 simples que composes, avec dcnouvelles Observations 

 faites sur une Multitude innombrable d'Insectes," 

 &c. 4to. pp. 171, plates U. Thirty-six years after ap- 

 peared the " Observations d'Histoire naturelle faites 

 avec le Microscope sur un grand Nombre d'Insectes 

 et sur les Animalcules qui se trouvent dans les 



