A hedgehog. 



six young hedgehogs, which appeared to be about 

 five or six days old ; they, I find, like puppies, are 

 born blind, and could not see when they came to my 



hands. No doubt their 

 spines are soft and flexi- 

 ble at the time of their 

 birth, or else the poor 

 dam would have but 

 a bad time of it in the 

 critical moment of par- 

 turition : but it is plain 

 that they soon harden ; 

 for these little pigs have such stiff prickles on their 

 backs and sides as would easily have fetched blood, 

 had they not been handled with caution. Their 

 spines are quite white at this age ; and they have 

 little hanging ears, which I do not remember to be 

 discernible in the old ones. They can, in part, at 

 this age draw their skin down over their faces ; but 

 are not able to contract themselves into a ball, as 

 they do, for the sake of defence, when full grown. 

 The reason, I suppose, is because the curious mus- 

 cle that enables the creature to roll itself up in a 

 ball was not then arrived at its full tone and firm- 

 ness. Hedge-hogs make a deep and warm hyber- 

 naculum with leaves and moss, in which they con- 

 ceal themselves for the winter: but I never could 

 find that they stored in any winter provision, as some 



quadrupeds certainly do. 



124 



