OEDEE OF INSECTIVOEA. 



517 



Limousin, where they abound. On the banks of the Vienne, in 

 the neighbourhood of Limoges, if you are walking out at mid- 

 day, you will see a crowd of tails disappearing into holes. These 

 are Vipers. The paths are their scouring-places. At Fontaine- 

 bleau, before 1848, viper-hunters were paid one franc for each 

 of these troublesome Reptiles." 



Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals. They remain concealed 

 the greater portion of the day in holes, either beneath stones, in 



Fig. 226. — Hedgehog {Erinaceuseuropcetis]. 



decayed trunks of trees, or in some other refuge, the work of chance 

 or of nature. There they lie buried in a somnolent state, from which 

 they are only roused to go in search of food. Their aKment 

 chiefly consists of Insects, Molluscs, Frogs, Toads, and small 

 Mammals. When they can obtain nothing else, they subsist 

 upon roots and fallen fruit ; but they do not climb trees in search 

 of it, as certain naturalists have stated. 



We must regard as a fabrication the story of Hedgehogs using 



