\r^ 



NATURE 



[May 19, 192 1 



On the other hand, there is equally little doubt that 

 on occasion the hedgehog will readily subsist on a 

 vegetable diet. Knapp says ('"Journal of a 

 NaturaHst," third edition, 1830, p. 130) : " In the 

 autumn crabs, haws, and the common fruits of the 

 hedge constitute its diet." Macgillivray asserts 

 ("British Quadrupeds," 1838, p. 119) that it "eats 

 fruits, especially apples that have fallen from the 

 trees." 



Yet another cognate point which has to be con- 

 sidered is : Does the hedgehog lay up a store of food 

 for the winter? Obviously, of animal food he could 

 not. Of vegetable food, however, he might, and some 

 writers have stated explicitly that he does. Yet others 

 of at least equal authority have stated that he does 

 not; and the author agrees with them. He has 

 seen manx nests of hedgehogs dug out of rabbit- 

 holes when ferreting in winter, but none has 

 ever been accompanied by a store of winter food. 

 It is on this account, no doubt, that the animal's 

 hibernation is by no means complete, and that he 

 sometimes leaves his winter nest and comes abroad 

 even on cold days. Probably the fruit of various 

 kinds which hedgehogs have been seen carrying on 

 their spines has been intended by them rather for 

 immediate consumption than as winter sustenance. 



Several friends and correspondents of the author — 

 some excellent naturalists among them — have advanced 

 the argument that, as they have kept many tame hedge- 

 hc^s and have never observed them even attempting 

 to transport fruit on their spines, the habit cannot be 

 one they practise in a state of nature. This argu- 

 ment seems to be entirely unsound. The habits of 

 animals in nature and in confinement are often 

 different; and in this particular case it may be urged 

 that a hedgehog in confinement, being (in a way) at 

 home, would scarcely be likely to feel a need to carry 

 food home. 



From the foregoing it becomes clear that there are, 

 beyond doubt, not a few cases, both ancient and 



modern, in which a hedgehog has been actually seen 

 carrying objects impaled upon the spines upon its 

 back — in most cases various kinds of fruit ; in one 

 case eggs of the pheasant. Unfortunately, none of 

 these observations (though made by persons whose 

 bona fides is in little doubt) can be regarded as wholly 

 conclusive, all being to some extent second-hand or 

 made by persons of little education. Nevertheless, 

 taking them in the mass and viewing them in con- 

 junction with the very ancient and extremely per- 

 sistent legend relating to the matter, it seems 

 impossible longer to doubt that, at times at any rate, 

 the animal really does transport fruit in the way 

 asserted. 



There is yet another legend pertaining to the hedge- 

 hog (and almost as ancient and widespread as the 

 fruit-carrying legend), namely, that it sucks the milk 

 of cows grazing in the fields. This statement, in the 

 crude form in which it is usually made and under- 

 stood, is a manifest impossibility. In the first place, 

 no hedgehog by stretching up would be able to reach 

 the teats of any cow of ordinary stature; and, even 

 if it could do so, the fact remains that the hedgehog's 

 mouth is far too small to allow it to suck milk effec- 

 tively from the teats of any such cow. 



Nevertheless, the legend in question is probably 

 true in a way, and a perfectly natural explanation 

 as to its origin can be given. We know well, from 

 the evidence of hedgehogs kept in confinement, 

 that the animal is exceedingly fond of milk; and 

 there can be no possible doubt that, in a state of 

 nature, it would take every opportunity to secure 

 i milk. Obviously, it could do this only when a cow 

 was lying down. In such a case, as is well known, 

 milk often runs from the teats of a milch cow ; and 

 there can be little or no doubt that the milk- 

 sucking legend has originated in the fact of a hedge- 

 hog having been seen sucking drops of milk from 

 the teats of a recumbent cow or from the ground 

 immediatelv after she has risen. 



The "Flight" of Flying-fish. 



// PROPOS of the recent correspondence concerning 

 -^ the "flight" of flying-fish, Prof. W. Galloway 

 has sent us a copy of a paper ("The Flying-fish," 

 Trans. Cardiff Nat. Soc, vol. xxiii., 1891) in which he 

 discussed the whole subject thirty years ago. His ow-n 

 observations, made from the bows of a ship, are in 

 agreement with those of Prof. Wood- J ones and of Mr. 

 J. S. Huxley : the impetus is given by the tail, the 

 pectoral fins are used as planes, and new impetus 

 can be gained by immersing and vibrating the lower 

 lobe of the tail. Prof. Galloway adds further interest- 

 ing particulars. Changes of direction made in air 

 are usually slight, the fish describing arcs of very 

 large radius; if a sudden change is required, the fish 

 drop into the water, to emerge almost instantly headed 

 in the n^w direction. The ordinary velocity of flight 

 is from 25 to 35 miles per hour. When the wind is 

 very strong (25 to 30 miles per hour) the fish are un- 

 able to rise with it, falling back into the water almost 

 immediately. When, therefore, they are startled by 

 a ship travelling with a strong wind, they rise against 

 the wind, and then, having gained sufficient velocity, 

 tilt right or left to describe a semicircle with radius 

 of 40 or 50 ft. and sail down-wind for very long 

 distances (200-300 ft. or more); if desirous of flying 

 again they do not attempt to drop their tail into the 

 water, but submerge , totally, leap out once more 

 against the wind, and once more turn. Prof. Gal- 



NO. 2690, VOL. 107] 



loway also summarises the previous literature. One 

 point deserves mention. Mobius {Zeit. wiss. Zool.^ 

 vol. XXX., 1878, Suppl., p. 343) agrees with various 

 observers that marked vibration of the pectoral fins 

 may and does occur (Prof. Galloway states that it 

 usually does so immediately on emergence). This, 

 Mobius states, is solely passive, due to the air resist- 

 ance when the '"wings " happen to be held parallel to 

 the plane of flight; similar effects can be produced 

 artificially on a bird's wing or a piece of stiff paper. 

 We are thus, it seems, warranted in regarding the 

 following points as proven : — 



(i) The pectoral fins of the true flying-fish act 

 as lifting and, to some extent, as turning planes 

 in air, (2) Rapid turns are made under water. 

 (3) The impetus to flight is not given by_ the 

 pectoral fins, nor is it the result of a single 

 leap into the air after the fashion of a salmon. A 

 rush is made which takes the fish clear of the water, 

 but at a very small angle with the surface, and by 

 means of motion of the^ elongated lower lobe of the 

 tail additional motive power is provided during the 

 traverse of several yards. (4) When velocity slackens 

 it can be re-aequired repeatedly by immersing arjd 

 vibrating the lower lobe of the tail. (5) Vibration of, 

 the pectoral fins does occur, but is probably a passive 

 effect. (6) In a strong wind flying-fish can rise only 

 against the wind. 



