OEDEE OF INSECTIYOEA. 



515 



in their form. They differ much from one another in habits, but 

 they all agree in feeding in the same manner, and in possessing 

 the same dentition. The principal genera are : the Hedgehogs 

 properly so called, the Tanrecs, the Tupaias, and the Gymnures. 



Genus Hedgehog. — The Hedgehogs owe their name to the 

 singular texture of their hair, which consists of real spines, 

 capable of being thrown erect at the will of the animal. Their 

 body is elongated, the limbs very short, and their paws have each 

 five toes, armed with comparatively feeble claws. Their muzzle 

 is pointed, and their olfactory organs are most highly developed. 



Fig. '^'^o. — I'yi'eiteaii Desmiiii {G'llcnii/s pi/rtniuci). 



Their eyes are small and their range of vision limited. The tail 

 is bare, thin, and very short. The teeth are thirty-six in number, 

 twenty being in the upper jaw and sixteen in the lower. They 

 have no incisors. 



The most curious feature in the economy of the Hedgehog con- 

 sists in the faculty it possesses of rolling itself up in a ball, 

 bringing the tail, paws, and head beneath the belly. After doing 

 so, it is very difficult to compel it to open itself again. The Fox 

 succeeds in this, but only after long-continued efforts, and not 

 without losing blood from both mouth and paws. Dogs are 

 successfully trained to vanquish the resistance of the Hedge- 

 boo-. An infallible method of making the animal unroll is by 



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