68 NATURAL HISTORY. 
guished from it by 
its long snout, which 
it uses in grubbing 
the earth in search 
of worms and in- 
ye rd — sects. The Water 
ee Witan,.=*"  "~ ““ Shrew dives and 
Fig. 51.—Shrew Mouse. * swims with great ce- 
lerity, and lives on the grubs of aquatic insects, which it 
digs out of the mud with its snout. 
111. The Hedgehog, Fig. 52, is the only animal in En- 
af gland that has its 
skin armed with 
spikes. These are 
\\ its means of defense. 
‘When attacked, it 
rolls itself up, and 
such is the arrange- 
ment of these spikes 
that the tightening of the skin makes them all stand out. 
A dog or a fox will not touch it then. Its food is in- 
sects, snails, frogs, snakes, roots, ete. Dr. Buckland put 
a hedgehog in a box with a snake. It gave the snake 
several quick bites in succession, rolling itself up after 
each bite. When the snake was sufficiently disabled, 
the hedgehog ate it leisurely as one would eat a radish, 
beginning at the tail. In winter this animal lies torpid 
in a hole lined with grass and moss, and if discovered 
looks like a ball of leaves, these having become fastened 
to its spikes as it rolled itself among them. 
112. The Banxrings differ from the other families of 
this order in being arboreal in their habits, ascending 
trees with the agility of Squirrels, which animals they re- 
semble in general appearance, but are easily distinguish- 
ed from them by their sharp muzzles. 
113. The order Rodentia, or Gnawing Quadrupeds, has 
eight families: 1. Squirrels. 2. Marmots. 3. Rats and 
/ =_ 
——— ==. 
Fig. 52.—Hedgehog. 
