84 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



There are three principal families of Insect -eating 

 animals 



The Moles, the Hedgehogs, and the Shrews. 



Of course you know that Moles burrow deeply in the 

 ground, and seldom come out of their tunnels. Indeed, 

 they are awkward-looking things enough when out of 

 their sphere, for their limbs are so very short, that they 

 scramble rather than walk along. And these limbs seem 

 all hand the bones forming the arms being very short 

 and thick, whilst the claws are immensely strong. The 

 Moles, although very quiet -looking, are really very 

 savage, and fight with each other most furiously. One 

 has been known to bite its captor so fiercely, that it 

 was only compelled to loosen its hold when squeezed 

 nearly to death by the teeth of its antagonist ; another 

 flung itself on a young lady's neck, and inflicted a severe 

 wound. 



The eyes of the Mole arc very small indeed, and it does 

 not seem able to bear the light of day ; but its sense of 

 smell is very great. 



The Hedgehog (Fig. 42) is too well known to need 

 description. The spines or prickles with which it is 

 covered are erectile that is, the animal can either allow 

 them to lie down with their points directed backwards, 

 or, by a peculiar motion of the skin, can cause them to 

 stand upright like the bayonets of so many soldiers ; and 

 when in danger, it can roll itself up like a ball, which is so 

 prickly that it requires some courage to take hold of it. 

 These animals feed on insects, frogs, slugs, &c. ; and is so 

 useful in destroying cockroaches, that it is kept in many 

 London kitchens for that purpose. It generally hides 

 under the copper or in some close cupboard all day, 

 and, coming out at night, wages war against the black- 

 beetles, of whom it eats so many, that it is frequently 

 found dead from the consequences ; for you can imagine 



