HEDGEHOG. 



429 



horses by their bite, and there are few parishes that have not, in former times, 

 had their " Shrew-ash " as a charm against witchcraft. Perhaps they owe 

 their bad character to the circumstance that, although cats will readily' kill a 

 shrew, they refuse to eat it, on account of its disagreeable odour. 



The Hedgehogs (Erinaceus) are distinguished by having their bodies 

 covered more or less exclusively with spines instead of hairs. They have the 

 faculty of rolling themselves up into a ball, and thus presenting only an array 

 of prickles pointing in every direction. 



FIG. 476. HEDGEHOG. 



The Common Hedgehog (Erinaceus EnropKiis] is well known in the rural 

 districts of this country. Slow of foot, it cannot flee from danger; but in the sharp, 

 hard, and tough prickles of its coat it is endowed with a safeguard more secure and 

 efficient than the teeth and claws of the wild cat, or the fleetness of the hare. The 

 hedgehog is provided with powerful muscles beneath the skin of the back, whereby, 

 on the slightest alarm, it is able to roll itself up, so as to enclose the head and limbs 

 in the centre. The more forcibly these muscles contract, the more rigidly do the spines 

 project from every part of its surface, so that it cannot be touched with impunity. .V 

 thoroughbred terrier will, however, sometimes succeed in forcing open the poor 

 "urchin/' at the expense of a bloody nose and sorely pricked paws. The young 

 hedgehogs, frequently called Hedgepigs, are born blind. The points of the pricks at 

 the time of birth already project from the skin, but are soft and flexible. The female 

 is a careful and attentive mother. 



The Moles (Talpa) are everywhere distinguishable by their subterranean 

 habits, and by their strange conformation, which is admirably adapted to 

 their mode of life. Their fore limbs, very short, supported by a strong and 

 vigorous construction of the shoulder, and wielded by muscles of enormous 

 strength, resemble broad hands, the palms of which are directed outwards and 

 backwards ; the ringers are scarcely perceptible, but the nails at their extremi- 

 ties are long, flat, cutting, and of great strength, wonderfully contrived for tear- 



