THE HEDGEHOG. 
355 
There are several specie^ of this curious animal, which are remarkable for two or three pecu- 
liarities of form and habit. 
The external characteristic which immediately strikes the attention of the beholder is the 
formidable array of bristling spines with which the back is more or less covered, and which 
offers a chevcmx-de-frise of sharp spikes towards any animal that may present itself as an 
enemy. Another peculiarity is the power possessed by these creatures of rolling themselves 
into a round ball, by placing the head on the breast, drawing up the legs, and curling the body 
firmly round these members. By this posture, the Hedgehogs render themselves invulnerable 
to almost every animal that may attack them, and defend the legs, abdomen, and other por- 
tions of the body that are left unprotected by nature. When in this curious attitude, the 
Hedgehog cannot be unrolled by main force, as long as any life remains in the body, for there 
is an enormously developed muscle, with a very thick margin, which spreads over the back 
and round the sides, and which, when contracted, holds the creature in so firm an embrace 
that it will be torn in pieces rather than yield its point. 
The technical name of this muscle is panniculus carnosus , and it is by means of this 
muscle that bears and other animals are able to shake their skins when they are irritated by 
any substance that clings to the hair, and which they cannot reach with their teeth. 
The Hedgehogs are plantigrade in their gait, and, like the generality of plantigrade ani- 
mals, are not particularly active or rapid in their movements. Although they generally prefer 
a deliberate pace when they are not alarmed or hurried, they can get over the ground with no 
small speed when they feel themselves called upon to make such an exertion. 
The feet of the Hedgehog are furnished with five toes, those of the fore-feet terminated 
with tolerably strong claws, which, although not so evidently fossorial as those of the moles 
and other insectivorous animals, are yet very capable of digging, and are used effectually for 
that purpose. The soles of the feet are naked. The limbs and the entire under surface of the 
body are undefended by the stiff prickles which are so thickly set upon the back, and are 
clothed with hair of a more or less dense character, according to the particular species. In 
every species, however, the hair is of a peculiar character, and is intermixed with a goodly 
number of tolerably stiff hairs of a bristly character. 
The food of the Hedgehog consists chiefly of insects, worms, snails, and similar creatures, 
but it is of essentially carnivorous taste, and is in no wise particular what the kind of food 
which it eats, provided that it be of an animal character. 
These details of form and habit are common to all the Hedgehogs ; and the other pecu 
liarities of the Erinacea, as these animals are learnedly named, will be mentioned in connection 
with the two species that will be figured and described in these pages. 
The Lohg-eaked Hedgehog derives its name from the exceeding dimensions of its ears, 
which project from its head in such a manner as to give to the animal a very porcine aspect. 
This species is found in Siberia and in all the eastern regions of Asiatic Russia, and has also 
been captured in Egypt. It is a smaller animal than the common Hedgehog of Europe, but is 
very variable in its dimensions, according to the locality in which it is found. The limbs are 
comparatively long and slender, and the long hair that clothes the lower portions of the body 
is extremely fin 3 in its texture. The array of prickly spines that guard its back does not 
extend so far as in the European species, and are of a rather peculiar coloring. At the base, 
each spine is marked with a whitish ring, the centre is brown, and the tip is tinted with yellow. 
The color of the eye is bluish -gray. 
The common Hedgehog, Hedge pig, or Urchin, is one of the most familiar of mam- 
malia, being found wherever the country is capable of affording food and shelter to him. 
The hard, round spines which cover the upper part of its body are about an inch in 
length, and of a rather peculiar shape. This form is wonderfully adapted to meet the 
peculiar objects which the spine is intended to fulfil, as will be seen in the following 
account. 
The spines lie nearly horizontally upon the back of the animal, a position which they 
