6o ERINACEIDyE— ERINACEUS 



by its protective coat of prickles, or, as Mr Moffat puts it, 

 that it trusts a good deal in its own comparative immunity 

 from attack. Thus Mr Moffat finds that when moving about by 

 night it does advertise its presence by sounds, making a furious 

 sniffing with its nostrils, and also rustling among the leaves and 

 herbage in a way that no other small animal could do without 

 great unwisdom. "One can easily track Hedgehogs — I think 

 from a distance of 40 yards — by the perpetual noise they thus 

 keep up, which tells us both ivhere they are and ivhat they are." 



Enough has been written above to suggest that the Hedge- 

 hog possesses the attributes both of smelling and self-advertising, 

 but it would be desirable that further observations should be 

 made on so interesting a subject. Some exotic hedgehogs are 

 evidently further advanced on the same path, for their tints are 

 brighter and more nearly approach the category of " warning 

 coloration," and, according to Captain T. Hutton,^ an Indian 

 species ^ makes a grunting sound when irritated, and when 

 touched suddenly, jerks up its back so as to throw its spines 

 forward, making at the same time a noise like a puff from a 

 pair of bellows. This action at once brings it into the same 

 category as a porcupine. 



Whatever may be thought of the above conclusions, two 

 facts are incontrovertible — viz., firstly, that the Hedgehog is a 

 palatable beast, acceptable, apart from sentimental prejudices, 

 both to man and to carnivorous animals ; and secondly, that 

 despite its prickly armour, many animals eat it, especially when 

 it is young and lacks the defence of the adult's spines. This 

 does not mean that the prickles are not protective, but merely 

 that they can be overcome by an enemy which is so hungry 

 that it will put up with wounds so long as it obtains a meal. 

 Even so, the effect of the prickles is to make carnivorous animals 

 think twice before attacking a hedgehog, and thus to cause 

 them to seek other food first. 



The flesh is eaten by men in some parts of continental Europe, 

 where the human dietary is wider than in Britain. But even in 

 this country it must have been at one time considered a delicacy 

 by the cultured, since "hyrchouns " ^ were served at a feast in 1425. 



' In W. T. Blanford. ^ E. collaris of Gray and Hardwicke. 



•' See F. J. Stubbs, Zoologist^ 191O) 'SS- 



