THE HEDGE-HOG. 125 



unable, or unwilling to offend, all its precautions are 

 only, directed to its own security ; and it is armed with 

 a thousand points to keep off the enemy, but not to 

 invade him. 



The hedge-hog is an animal about six inches long 

 from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail, 

 which is not more than an inch in length : the head, 

 back, and sides are covered with prickles ; but the 

 nose, breast, and belly, with a fine soft hair ; its legs are 

 short, and almost bare ; but the toes are long and se- 

 parated, and it has five upon each foot : ' each prickle 

 is about an inch in length, and extremely sharp at the 

 point : the eyes are small, and placed high in the 

 head ; and the mouth is well furnished with teelh, 

 though the creature only uses them for chewing its 

 food ; for, in cases of danger, it relies entirely upon 

 its spines : as soon as it perceives itself attacked, it in- 

 stantly withdraws its vulnerable parts, rolls itself up 

 into a complete ball, and presents nothing to the ene- 

 my but its defensive thorns ; and the cat, the weasel, 

 the ferret, and the martin soon decline the combat ; 

 and even the dog himself generally spends his time in 

 empty menaces rather than effectual efforts. 



Like most other wild animals, the hedge-hog sleeps 

 by day, and ventures out by night : it generally resides 

 in small thickets, hedges, or ditches, covered with 

 bushes ; there it makes a hole about six or eight inches 

 deep, and covers itself up with grass or moss : it lives 

 upon roots, fruits, worms, and insects ; but is accused 

 of injuring the udder of cows, by attempting to draw 

 their milk ; yet this account is believed to be erro- 

 neous, as their mouths are not large enough to admit 

 the teat : they sleep during the winter season, and are 

 able to remain a bag time without food. 



