' When quite young they are unable to roll up into a ball of defence." 



THE HEDGEHOG, OR URCHIN 



HIS familiar quadruped is 

 too well known to need 

 any kind of description, 

 and I shall therefore con- 

 tent myself by mentioning 

 a few interesting facts rela- 

 tive to its life and habits. 

 It is a nocturnal animal, 

 sleeping by day, and coming forth 

 towards evening to ramble about during 

 the hours of darkness in search of beetles, 

 worms, birds' eggs, young frogs, snakes, 

 or whatsoever its strength and skill 

 will allow it to overpower and slay. It 

 is common nearly all over Europe, and 

 hibernates during the winter months. 

 In the autumn it makes for itself a nice 

 warm nest of moss, dead grass and leaves, 

 and, curling itself up, lapses into a more 

 or less torpid condition. I say " more 

 or less torpid," because if disturbed 

 during mild weather, even in January, 

 it will take umbrage and forsake its 

 carefully prepared quarters. I have on 



more than one occasion taken a " Hedge- 

 pig " from its nest during cold weather in 

 the winter, and placed it in front of a 

 fire in order to observe at what tempera- 

 ture the animal would awake, and, judg- 

 ing from the accelerated heart -beat ing, 

 and the convulsive manner in which it 

 breathed, the experiment could not have 

 been good for its health. 



A great deal of uncertainty seems to 

 prevail in regard to the precise season 

 at which the Hedgehog brings forth its 

 young. Some authorities contend that 

 the breeding season is in the early 

 summer, and others not until July or 

 August. Personally I have found nests 

 containing young ones as early as the 

 beginning of June, and as late as the 

 end of August. There is also room for 

 a good deal more observation in regard to 

 the number of young Hedgepigs in a 

 litter ; some naturalists assert that four 

 is the limit, whilst others mention double 

 that number in a nest. I have never 



