HEDGEHOGS GALORE Niall's notes concerning hedge- hogs has been of
great interest to me because a large and friendly hedgehog has paid us nightly visits for well over two months now. We prepare two saucers of bread and milk every night and place one outside the back door and the other on the lawn, in a box turned on its side to provide shelter. The hedgehog is often waiting at the door for his meal, any time between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. I have watched him slop his way rather messily through one saucer of food, step into the saucer, tip it upside down and scurry across the garden to the other saucer. He then tucked in as though starved for a week.
One night he brought a friend and together they tackled their meal, facing each other over the saucer. One tipped it up, the other clamped it firmly down with his paw. This went on until the food was finished and they then parted ways.
While eating, pur hedgehog seems to appre- ciate a gentle tickling under his chin and a few cheery words. Human company never worries him in the slightest.
When we went for our fortnight's holiday, we quite expected to lose his patronage but were delighted to see him at the back door on our return.
One word of warning, if you place a saucer of food on 9 concrete path ! Be prepared for a constant rattling and scraping during the night as the hedgehog pushes the dish round and round to find an extra crumb. If, hoe' ever, it is a moonlight night, a peep from the window is well worth while to see the dark little figure scurrying excitedly round In circles to finish every morsel.—Yours faith.
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