This animal belongs exclusively to the eastern continent, and is well
known from the thick and sharp prickles with which its back and sides
are covered, and the contractile power by which it can draw its head
and belly within the prickly covering of its back, so as to give it the
appearance of a ball. It is found near hedges and thickets, from the
fruits and herbage of which it obtains its food. It also feeds upon
small animals, such as snails and beetles.
The sagacity of the hedgehog is celebrated in antiquity. We are
informed by Plutarch, that a citizen of Cyzicus thus acquired the
reputation of a good meteorologist: A hedgehog generally has its burrow
open in various points; and, when its instinct warns it of an
approaching change of the wind, it stops up the aperture towards that
quarter. The citizen alluded to, becoming aware of this practice, was
able to predict to what point the wind would next shift.
Though of a very timid disposition, the hedgehog has been sometimes
tamed. In the year 1790, there was one in the possession of a Mr.
Sample, in Northumberland, which performed the duty of a turnspit as
well, in all respects, as the dog of that denomination. It ran about
the house with the same familiarity as any other domestic animal.
In the London Sporting Magazine for 1821, there is an account of one,
which, after having been tamed in a garden, found its way to the
scullery, and there made regular search for the relics of the dinner
plates; having its retreat in the adjoining cellar. It was fed after
the manner itself had selected. Milk was given in addition to the meat;
but it lost its relish for vegetables, and constantly rejected them. It
soon became as well domesticated as the cat, and lived on a footing of
intimacy with it.