THE HEDGE-HOG. 33 



trees and barns as trophies of the zeal and 

 activity of their destroyers. They have been 

 accused of sucking cows, injuring their udders, and 

 other delinquencies, all of which accusations are 

 equally erroneous. So far from being hurtful, they 

 are beneficial to man, by feeding on slugs, snails, 

 beetles and other insects, thus assisting in keeping 

 down too great a number of them, and prevent- 

 ing their becoming injurious in our fields and gar- 

 dens. The hedge-hog will also feed upon fruit, such 

 as apples, crabs &c., and I have reason to believe 

 on black-berries. I have also been assured that it 

 eats frogs and mice. It has been accused of 

 sucking eggs, but I have never with all my en- 

 quiries, been able to procure a satisfactory proof 

 that this was the case from any of the keepers in 

 the Royal Parks, in most of which the hedge-hog 

 is plentiful. It will also feed on some roots, 

 and Mr. White, in his history of Selborne, men- 

 tions its eating those of the plantain in his 

 garden. It remained however for Professor 

 Buckland to introduce this animal in a new cha- 

 racter viz. that of a devourer of snakes. I first 

 met with the account in Mr. Bell's history of Bri- 

 tish Quadrupeds, and it is thus agreeably related. 

 " Having occasion to suspect that hedge-hogs, 

 occasionally at least, preyed on snakes, the Pro- 

 fessor procured a common snake, and also a 

 hedge-hog, and put them into a box together. 

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