26 THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



Irish Channels and elsewhere. Its whalebone and blubber are so inferior in 

 quality as to be scarcely worth obtaining. Possibly this accounts for its 

 existence still in such numbers. 



12. Sibbald's Rorqual, or the "BLUE" WHALE (Balcznoptera sibbaldii), is the 

 largest of all the whales, sometimes measuring 90 or 100 feet in length. The 

 colour is dark grey above and lighter grey below, and frequently appears of 

 a blue shade : hence its name. It is still fairly abundant in the North Sea, 

 and has been washed ashore on the North-east Coast of England. 



13. RudolpM's Rorqual (Balanoptera borealis) is found in the Atlantic, 

 North Sea, and English Channel. Its length is under 50 feet. A specimen 

 was captured in the Thames in 1887 ; and another, stranded near Rochester 

 in 1888, was said to cry like a child in distress. 



14. The Lesser Rorqual, or PIKE WHALE (Balcenoptera acuto-rostrata), is 

 quite common round the British Isles. It is some 30 feet long, and comes 

 near land, apparently, when about to produce its young. 



Order: INSECTIVORA ("Insect-eaters"). 



i. The Common Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaus). This is one of the oldest 

 genera of mammals which still exist, its remains having been found, unaltered, 

 dating from the Miocene Period. Every one is familiar with this curious if 

 common creature, with its covering of spines, and, on its under parts, coarse 

 hair. It is to be found practically all over England and Scotland, and, not 

 quite so commonly, in Ireland. It feeds on all kinds of insects, and slugs, 

 snails, spiders, and worms. It is known to kill and eat snakes and frogs, 

 and even small birds, mice, voles, etc. It is very partial to eggs. Those 

 which I have kept as pets have eaten practically all sorts of food scraps from 

 the table, bread and milk, vegetables, etc. One lived under my study table 

 for a year, and used to come out from his box and lick my boots, apparently 

 finding the blacking to his taste ; and another, which was brought to me quite 

 wild, within an hour made himself at home on the hearth-rug in front of the 

 fire, having successfully ousted a dog and a cat. A hedgehog is a useful pet 

 if the house is infested with " cockroaches " ; but it is worth adding that the 

 creature will require other food. I have known at least one family who 

 believed it was sufficient to lock the hedgehog up in the kitchen for the 

 night, to get all the meals he required from " black beetles " and a saucer of 

 water ! 



The young are born, in a litter of four to six, in July or August ; some- 

 times a second litter is born in October. They are quite blind, and, like 

 young rabbits, almost naked, their spines being soft and white. This species 

 hibernates during the winter, often under a heap of dead leaves, where it 

 lies torpid until March. 



The hedgehog takes its walks abroad chiefly at night, but I have several 

 times seen it by day. It can utter a squeal or mew, though it is seldom 



