322 



THE INSECTIVORES 



between them being ornamented, in some of the foreign species, with rows of tuber- 

 cles. Hedgehogs date from a remote antiquity ; and it is doubtless solely due to 

 this protective armor of spines that animals of such low organization and of such 

 comparatively large size have been enabled to survive without resorting to the pro- 

 tection afforded by a subterranean or aquatic mode of life. 



The food of the European hedgehog is very varied, including in- 

 sects, worms, slugs, snails, lizards, snakes, birds' eggs, rats, mice, 

 and other small animals ; while roots and fruit are also consumed to a certain ex- 

 tent. The partiality of hedgehogs for insects is often taken advantage of in 

 ridding houses of beetles and cockroaches ; although the hedgehog itself not unfre- 



Habits 





THE COMMON HEDGEHOG. 

 (One-third natural size.) 



quently comes to an untimely end by a too close approach to the kitchen stove for 

 the sake of warmth. A hedgehog kills a snake by inflicting a series of bites, and 

 quickly assuming the defensive when threatened with attack. That eggs are largely 

 consumed by these animals is proved by the readiness with which they are caught 

 in traps thus baited. On account of such depredations, as well as from their 

 destructiveness to young birds, they are much persecuted by gamekeepers. There 

 is, moreover, at least one instance on record of a hedgehog, having attacked a 



