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THE NATURE BOOK 



snakes, but in neither case have I been 

 able to come to any definite conclusion. 

 In my fiist experiments I was only 



A YO. 



ljGEHOG. 



once certain that the approach of the 

 Hedgehog was unnoticed by the Viper. 

 On this occasion Hedgehog sniffed at 

 Viper (as he will sniff at anything he thinks 

 may be eatable), and probably touched 

 her with his nose. The effect, so far as 

 Viper was concerned, was a quick cross- 

 swing of the head and a vicious hiss. 

 Hedgehog coiled instantly, and, by the 

 time he had undone himself. Viper had 

 withdrawn to a quieter place. On all 

 other occasions I think that Viper sighted 

 Hedgehog first. If she remained still, her 

 e3'e and the tremor of her head were 

 sufficient to keep Hedgehog at a respect- 

 ful distance, but more often she retired 

 in stately fashion as Hedgehog approached 

 — anything for a quiet life. Hedgehog, 

 even when fasting, would make no attempt 

 to follow her up. In my more recent 

 experiments with a Grass-snake (of which 

 I give two illustrations), Hedgehog once 

 succeeded in getting in a bite. In this 

 case, too, Grass-snake was unaware of 

 his approach, and the bite was evidently 

 trivial, for she lunged straight at him. 

 Hedgehog coiled up like a flash, and 

 Grass-snake, trailing her whole length 

 across his upturned quills, made for the 

 nearest cover. There is little doubt, I 

 think, that the Hedgehog, in order to eat a 

 snake, must be able to come upon it 

 unawares and break its back with a single 

 bite. To be caught unawares the snake 

 would almost certainly be coiled, and, for 

 the Hedgehog to get in an effective bite, 

 the coils would have to be favourably 



disposed ; while the fling of a slightly 

 wounded snake would certainly frighten 

 the Hedgehog into a ball, and so give the 

 snake a sufficient start to secure its safety. 

 With quite young snakes, both viperine 

 and others, the case is, of course, different. 

 The stretch of the Hedgehog's jaws 

 would accommodate any portion of their 

 bodies, and I have no doubt that he is 

 capable of pursuing, catching, and con- 

 suming them. It must be remembered, 

 however, that Hedgehogs and snakes 

 are seldom to be found abroad during the 

 same hours of the day. 



I have mentioned that the Hedgehog 

 is a silent animal, and this is certainly the 

 general rule, though I have at times 

 been able to locate one by hearing a sub- 

 dued snuffle in the grass — and the cry of 

 a Hedgehog caught in a gin is said to 



TWO YOUNG HEDGEHOGS IN A NEST. 



be heartrending. This, I am glad to 

 say, I have not heard. On one occasion, 

 however, when I accidentally hurt a 

 Hedgehog in an endeavour to keep him 

 open, he uttered a sharp, S})itting yaj), 

 and bit me rather severely. Under the 



