TUT. UKlniKUOQ. 867 



The young of tli.> Hedgehog an- l'in alwiit Ma\, and are so unlike the parents that the\ 

 hav Keen mistaken for \oung liinls liy ine\|.eiieiii-ed observer*. It is \\ \.-\\ -insular fm-t, and 

 on.- which i- almo-t if not entirely unique. tliai not only aiv they born with their eyes closed, 

 as is the caw with kittens, puppies, and many other animals. l<ut with their ears closed also. 

 Tin- soft white qnilK which pn-sent S4> curious an apjieaniiice a- they lit- ii[>on the Iran-pan 'lit 

 pink -kin. very -oon begin to deepen in their color, and to im T.;I^- in numl>er, so that alx-m 

 the end of August the littl>> animals resemble their pan-nts in everything but slie. Tlie nuiiiU-r 

 of \oiing which an- produced at a birth is from three to four. 



The ne-t in \\liidi the littl> Hedgehogs are produced and iiurtun-d i- mo-t ingenious in its 

 structure, being so admirably woven of moss and similar substances, and S4i well thatched with 

 leave*, that it will resist the effects of the violent showers that generally fall during tin- -pring, 

 remaining perfectly dry in the midst of the sharpest rain. 



Marching secun-ly under the guardianship of its thorn-spiked armor, the Hedgehog recks 

 little of any foe save man. For, with this single exception, there are, in our land at least, no 



in-Ill s til .-!': ::..: : : ; -....! j ;...-... 1 ., M .1 >. i n , : , i I I, ._>.!", i\. -..::, i . ;i I- :u 1 I,, i .nl\ 



creatures which JKS^--< the c;ipjil<ility of killing and cat ing the Hedgehog, and of these f<n-s it 

 is \.-ry little afniid. For dogs are but seldom abroad Jit night \\hilc the Hedgehog is eiipiged 

 in its niM-t nrnal quests after food ; and the fox would not be foolish enough to waste it- time 

 and prick it.s nose in weary endeavors to force its intended prey out of its defences. Cats, too, 

 are even leas adapted to such a proceeding than dogs and foxes. 



It is indeed said that the native cunning of the fox enables it to overreach the Hedgehog, 

 and to induce it to unroll itself by an ingenious, but, I fear, apocryplial process. Reynard is 

 said, whenever he finds a coiled -up Hedgehog, to roll it over and over with his paw towards 

 some runnel, pond, or puddle, and then to souse it unexpectedly into the water. The Hedgehog 

 fearing that it is going to he drowned, straightway unrolls itself, and is inmediately pounced 

 on by the cunning fox, which crushes its head .vi'h a single bite, and eat- M afterwards at 

 1 i-iire. The puma is xiid to eat the Hedgehog in a very curious manner. Seizing the animal 

 by the head, it gradually draws the animal through its teeth, swallowing the lx>dy and strip- 

 ping off the -kin. 



Man, however, troubles himself very little about the Hedgehog's prickles, and when dis- 

 posed to such a diet, kills, cooks, and eats it without hesitation. 



The legitimate mode of proceeding is to kill the animal b\ a blow on the head, and then to 

 envelop it, without removing the skin, in a thick layer of well-kneaded clay. The enwrapped 

 Hedgehog is then placed on the fire, being can-fully turned by the cook at proper intervals, 

 and there remains until the clay is perfectly dry ami l)egins to crack. When this event has 

 token place, the cooking is considered to be complete, and the animal is removed from the 

 fire. The clay covering is then broken off, and carries away with it the whole of the skin, 

 which is adherent by means of the prickle-. By this mode of cookery the juices are preserved, 

 and the result is pronounced to be supremely excellent. 



This primitive but admirable form of cookery is almost entirely confined to gipsies and 

 other wanderers, as in these days there are few civilized i>ersons who would condescend to ir- 

 take of such a diet. Utilitarians, however, can render the creature subservient to their pur- 

 |x>-es by tid^g i' M :i _'n:iidi.iii ! ' tlfii kitchens. I:- in-.-rt .!.-.. .m in_- ].<,u.-i- ;ne .,f -\;, \, :i 

 nature that it can be made a most useful inhabitant of the house, and set in charge of the 

 "block beetles." 



It is domesticated without the least difficulty, and speedily makes itself at home, if it be 

 only supplied with a warm bed of rags or hay in some dark en-vice. The rapidity with which 

 it extirpates the cockroaches is most marvellous, for their speed and wariness are so great that 

 the Hedgehog must possess no small amount of both qualities in order to destroy them so 

 easily. A Hedgehog which resided for some years in our house was accustomed to pass a 

 somewhat nomad existence, for as soon as it had eaten all the cockroaches in our kitchen it 

 used to be lent to a friend, to whom it performed the same valuable service. In a few months 

 those tiresome insects hod again multiplied, and the Hedgehog was restored to its former 

 habitation. 



