CHAPTER XXXVIL 



GROUND VERMIN: The Hedgehog. 



THE hedgehog is decidedly vermin, though not generally 

 so considered except by gamekeepers. It is mostly regarded 

 as living entirely on insects and such reptiles as it can 

 discover in these islands, but it really is as destructive 

 amongst eggs and young game as it can well be, considering 

 its comparatively slow movements and the difficulty such a 

 rough-bodied, short-legged animal must have in passing 

 over uneven and overgrown ground. 



There is no need to describe the appearance of the hedge- 

 hog, which is fairly plentiful all over the country. It 

 is essentially nocturnal in its habits, and in its natural 

 state invariably retires from the search for food and other 

 occupations as the sun rises, nor does it again come forth 

 from its hiding as well as sleeping place until the dusk 

 of evening is deepening into night, when it goes in search 

 of prey, which is generally said to consist almost entirely of 

 insects. Still, whatever constitutes the ordinary food of 

 the hedgehog, the fact remains that it is addicted to the 

 capture and eating of many of the furred and feathered 

 proteges of the gamekeeper. 



There is no sort of young game which the hedgehog 

 cannot catch, and, having caught, consume, and, more- 

 over, with no inconsiderable avidity. Whether it be young 

 rabbits or leverets, pheasant or partridge chicks, or young 



