See Dr Heddle and his Geological Work (with portrait), by J. G. Goodchild, Trans. Edin. Geol. Soc. (1898) vii. 317.
HEDGEHOG, or Urchin, a member of the mammalian order Insectivora, remarkable for its dentition, its armature of spines and its short tail. The upper jaw is longer than the lower, the snout is long and flexible, with the nostrils narrow, and the claws are long but weak. The animal is about 10 in. long, its eyes are small, and the lower surface covered with hairs of the ordinary character. The brain is remarkable for its low development, the cerebral hemispheres being small, and marked with but one groove, and that a shallow one, on each side. The hedgehog has the power of rolling itself up into a ball, from which the spines stand out in every direction. The spines are sharp, hard and elastic, and form so efficient a defence that there are few animals able to effect a successful attack on this creature. The moment it is touched, or even hears the report of a gun, it rolls itself up by the action of the muscles beneath the skin, while this contraction effects the erection of the spines. The most important muscle is the orbicularis panniculi, which extends over the anterior region of the skull, as far down the body as the ventral hairy region, and on to the tail, but three other muscles aid in the contraction.
| The Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). |
Though insectivorous, the hedgehog is reported to have a liking for mice, while frogs and toads, as well as plants and fruits, all seem to be acceptable. It will also eat snakes, and its fondness for eggs has caused it to meet with the enmity of game-preservers; and there is no doubt it occasionally attacks leverets and game-chicks. In a state of nature it does not emerge from its retreat during daylight, unless urged by hunger or by the necessities of its young. During winter it passes into a state of hibernation, when its temperature falls considerably; having provided itself with a nest of dry leaves, it is well protected from the influences of the rain, and rolling itself up, remains undisturbed till warmer weather returns. In July or August the female brings forth four to eight young, or, according to others, two to four at a somewhat earlier period; at birth the spines, which in the adult are black in the middle, are white and soft, but soon harden, though they do not attain their full size until the succeeding spring.
The hedgehog, which is known scientifically as Erinaceus europaeus, and is the type of the family Erinaceidae, is found in woods and gardens, and extends over nearly the whole of Europe; and has been found at 6000 to 8000 ft. above the level of the sea. The adult is provided with thirty-six teeth; in the upper jaw are 6 incisors, 2 canines and 12 cheek-teeth, and in the lower jaw 4 incisors, 2 canines and 10 cheek-teeth. The genus is represented by about a score of species, ranging over Europe, Asia, except the Malay countries, and Africa.
(R. L.*)
HEDGES AND FENCES. The object of the hedge[1] or fence (abbreviation of “defence”) is to mark a boundary or to enclose an area of land on which stock is kept. The hedge, i.e. a row of bushes or small trees, forms a characteristic feature of the scenery of England, especially in the midlands and south; it is more rarely found in other countries. Its disadvantages as a fence are that it is not portable, that it requires cutting and training while young, that it harbours weeds and vermin and that it occupies together with the ditch which usually borders it a considerable space of ground, the margins of which cannot be cultivated. For these reasons it is to some extent superseded by the fence proper, especially where shelter for cattle is not required. In Great Britain the hawthorn (q.v.) is by far the most important of hedge plants. Holly resembles the hawthorn in its amenability to pruning and in its prickly nature and closeness of growth, which make it an effective barrier to, and shelter for, stock, but it is less hardy and more slow-growing than the hawthorn. Hornbeam, beech, myrobalan or cherry plum and blackthorn also have their advantages, hornbeam being proof against great exposure, blackthorn thriving on poor land and possessing great impenetrability and so on. Box, yew, privet and many other plants are used for ornamental hedging; in the United States the osage orange and honey locust are favourite hedge plants. As fences, wooden posts and rails and stone walls may be conveniently used in districts where the requisite materials are plentiful. But the most modern form of fence is formed of wire strands either smooth or barbed (see [Barbed Wire]), strained between iron standards or wooden or concrete posts. The wire may be interwoven with vertical strands or, if necessary, may be kept apart by iron droppers between the standards. Fences of a lighter description are machine-made with pickets of split chestnut or other wood closely set, woven with a few strands of wire; they are braced by posts at intervals.
From the fact that tramps and vagabonds frequently sleep under hedges the word has come to be used as a term of contempt, as in “hedge-priest,” an inferior and illiterate kind of parson at one time existing in England and Ireland, and in “hedge-school,” a low class school held in the open air, formerly very common in Ireland. From the sense of “hedge” as an enclosure or barrier the verb “to hedge” means to enclose, to form a barrier or defence, to bound or limit. As a sporting term the word is used in betting to mean protection from loss, by betting on both sides, by “laying off” on one side, after laying odds on another or vice versa. The word was early used figuratively in the sense of to avoid committing oneself.