A CASE AGAINST THE HEDGEHOG. 307 



noise. Thinking a cat might be about, and therefore must be the 

 enemy now, I went up to see what was doing. There the hen 

 was, standing a short distance from the nest, with only two 

 chickens by her side ; the others could not be seen. On going 

 nearer the nest, there was another hedgehog in quiet possession. 

 Below him in the nest were one or two dead chickens ; their little 

 heads were crushed quite flat and wet, as if some animal had been 

 trying to chew the heads. Outside the nest were two more dead 

 chickens, their heads being in the same flat and wet condition. 

 The chickens were about a week old, and, so far as I can recollect, 

 there was no other disfigurement. In the morning two more live 

 chickens turned up, and the poor hen had to be content with a 

 reduced brood of four or five instead of eight or ten. The hedge- 

 hog had been sentenced to a violent death, but, fortunately for 

 himself, made his escape while search was being made for any 

 of the surviving chickens. During the next summer a duck had 

 laid a number of eggs more than a dozen in a quiet secluded 

 spot at the root of a birch tree, and which were not discovered by 

 human eye until they were rather far on in a state of incubation to 

 be fit for use ; so the duck was allowed to keep her eggs in 

 order to hatch them. One night, about 11 or 11.30 P.M., 

 some of the inmates of the house were disturbed by the duck 

 coming to one of the doors, making a great noise, and would not 

 leave. So, to save further annoyance, the servant rose and locked 

 up poor duck with the other ducks. In the morning the prisoner 

 was released, and allowed to go to resume possession of the nest, 

 which, on examination, was found undisturbed, except that two or 

 three of the eggs were amissing ; but this was thought nothing of, 

 and allowed to pass unnoticed. However, a few nights after this 

 occurrence, the duck repeated her visit to the house, was in a 

 greatly disturbed state, and would on no account whatever be 

 pacified ; so, as the night was dark, a light was procured, and the 



