THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 1855, 10 June 1887, Page 34

THE NATURALIST.

THE HEDGEHOG.

Hedgehogs aTe extremely common in England, far more so than some people suspect ; their holes may be noticed in every bank and hedgerow, and yet they are very seldom seen alive, at least in proportion to their actual frequency. , The reason is plain. The hedgehog is by nature a shy, unobtrusive, and retiring creature. He does not court observation ; he shuns the busy world and haunts of men, preferring literally to bury himself in the country. Half a burrower by habit, nocturnal in his mode of life, a skulker and prowler in the ditches and thickets, he loves not to emerge' into tbe light of the day, and it is but rarely that he ventures out into the full sunshine, blinking and winking like an owl in the daylight. His movements are slow, and attract but little attention, and unless you look for him you are little likely to find him. You must call upon him at bis own place and time if you wish for an interview, and even then *the- most persistent interviewer will get very little for his pains out of him. Your hedgehog will probably roll himself into a ball on your approach, and envelope his psychology in a prickly shroud of impenetrable • mystery. The wandering gipsy is one of his greatest enemies in England. The approved gipsy recipe for coobing the dainty morsel has long been famous. First catch your hedgehog— says the gipsy I cookery book, traditional and unwritten — stick a knife in him, and open and clean him, leaving the skin and spines still on ; then roll him up in a ball of kneaded clay, and pop him entire into the midst of the fire. As soon as the clay bursts the hedgehog is done ; you take him ofE accordingly, and he turns out whole without his skin, the spines and hair adhering firmly to the baked clay. This saves you the trouble of skinning him. He is said to be very good eating, for those who like him ; but on this matter I speak at second hand, and not with the authority of a personal experimenter. Hedgehogs are in season in September and October, when they have fatted themselves up for their winter sleep. In the spring, I understand from those qualified to speak, they are very poor game indeed.

The mother hedgehog, good soul, is a model of domesticity. She builds a regular nest of moss and leaves, in a hole by the bank, with a waterproof roof, warranted to keep out rain and damp ; and here she brings up her numerous progeny in the'family circle. The little pigs are born'white and blind, hairless and spineless, but with tiny knobs which mark the first rudiments of the future quills. In 24 hours the spines harden, and the young hedgehog openly-displays his hereditary proclivities. It is some time, however, before he can roll himself up into a perfect ball ; tho development of these various peculiarities probably recapitulating the successive stages of his ancestral evolution. Born a shrew, he only slowly attains complete hedgehog-hood.

This is the way of nature — each species in its first stages recalls the features of .its earlier progenitors. Are not our own babies ? — but that would be rank treason. I say no more ; lam myself a father. — Grant Allen, in the Hour Glass.

Malformations. —On the subject of persons having more than five fingers on each hand, we (Home paper) have received the following letters :—: —

From K. A. — Noticing that in answering your correspondent "M. A.," you state your belief that no authentic case of a man or woman having ' more than six fingers on each hand exists, I beg to state that there is' a man living here, well known to all the inhabitants of Ventnor, who has no fewer than seven fingers on each hand, and seven toes on each foot. ■ This man has a large family, and several of his children have the same number of fingers and toes as their father ; and, further, one of the man's grandparents had the same peculiaxity.

From T. C. A.— Having seen the answer to correspondent "M. A." in your issue of March 12, 1 beg to say that I have four fingers and two thumbs on each hand, perfect, and should esteem it a favour if you publish this, so that I might put myself in communication with someone who has got the same, or who is interested in the matter.

From Richmond. — Although in general accurate in your replies to correspondents, you have made a mistake in your answer to "M. A." Authentic cases of persons having more than six fingers on each hand are not so very rare. In the winter of '78-79 I was in the dissecting room of Queen's College, Cork, when a " subject " was on a table having seven fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. The fingers were perfect on' the right hand; on the left the ringfinger was a reproduction of the other half of the hand — viz., divided into a' thumb and two fingers.