MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 283 



|No. Til.— METHOD OF POKCLFINES ATTACK.^ 



In tne [last Journal of the Society, p. [491, Vol. X~XV, Mr. IJ. D. 

 Macleod asks for information regarding a porcupine's oflensive. Lt.- 

 Colonel F. H. Jackson of the Bombay Political Department, who retired in 

 1898, told me that his dogs once rounded a porcupine in the jungle. 

 When he came near, the porcupine whipped round and ran backwards at 

 him forcing several quills into his leg. He said the porcupine's action was 

 extraordinanly quick and he thought that on account of the celerity of 

 its movemtnts in this form of attack, Indians had got the idea, which is 

 prevalent, that a porcupine can shoot its quills at an enemy. Colonel 

 Jackson had good cause to remember the occasion. He extracted all the 

 quills he could see in his leg and thought there was nothing left, but a 

 short time afterwards and at intervals for the next six months he would 

 suddenly go lame with intense pain for which he c<Aild not account until 

 one day he felt something hard under the skin. He called a doctor who 

 took out a piece of quill which had been in his leg for six months. 



E. O. BRIEN, Lt.-Colonel. 

 PorbAndar, 21.'!^ A2)ril 1918. 



|No. IV.— METHOD OF PORCUPINES ATTACK. 



With reference to Miscellaneous Note No. 1 on page 491 of Vol. XXV., 

 it may explain to Mr. Macleod what happened, if 1 tell him of an in- 

 cident which occurred when a party of us were out pigsticking down 

 the Diamond Harbour Road from Calcutta in 1875. A porcupine was driven 

 out of a patch of grass and made across the open. I rode after it and when 

 almost within spearing distance it suddenly stopped and ran backuard at 

 the horse with all its spines erect. Of course this was no defence against a 

 spear, but a dog rushing on would have suffered very badly. My first 

 spear did not kill the porcupine as I was rather taken by surprise and he 

 repeated the manoeuvre, though wounded, when I caught him up again. 

 The second epear killed him. 



F. J. MITCHELL. 



Srinagak, loth May 1918. 



No. v.— THE BEATRIX OR ARABIAN ORYX {ORYX LEUCORYX) 



IN CENTRAL ARABIA. 



(With a Plate.) 



These two female Oryx beatn.i were given to me at Riyadh in December 

 1917, by the Ameer of Central Arabia, Abdul Aziz Bin Sand, and are 

 intended to be presented to His Majesty the King, when an opportunity 

 occurs. 



They had been kept as pets in the Palace Gardens at Riyadh for over 6 

 months and were fairly tame, but it was not an easy matter to bring them 

 to the Coast at Koweit which is some four or five hundred miles from Bin 

 Baud's capital. The hrst day out from Riyadh we tried leading them 

 separately among the Qock of sheep which the Ameer had presented to us. 

 I and a servant rode behind them, but the w-hole day thej'^ made attempts 

 to break away and the boys who held the ropes w ere thoroughly tired out. 

 Next day, hawever, we hit upon an expedient which proved absolutely 

 successful. They were tied together with a long rope knotted in the 

 centre which one boy held over his shoulder while another walked 

 close behind shooing them on when necessary. They grew daily more 

 amenable to this method until in about a week's time they stalked along at 



