OF DENISON UNIVERSITY. 23 



observe the second excavation. If the latter presents any irregular- 

 ity, however, he immediately deposits the load there and barricades 

 the burrow at that point. 



The Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatus, L.) is familiar to everyone 

 from pictures and yet few have had the opportunity to observe it in its 

 home in the pine forests of the north. In fact there is little to attract 

 or awaken interest except for the peculiar quill like modification of the 

 hair. Although a true rodent its gait and habits strangely suggest the 

 hog and earn for it its popular pseudonym. Its distribution is largely 

 coincident with that of the northern pine forests, though it delights to 

 feed in the lush vegetation of the meadows bordering the quiet rivers. 



A visit to the pineries of north-western Wisconsin by one of us dur- 

 ing midsummer of 1890 afforded especially good opportunities for the 

 study of their habits. Here settlers are few and the beasts of the for- 

 est still hold almost undisputed dominion. The porcupines, however, 

 seem to prefer the settlement, being apparently very social in their 

 tendencies and almost devoid of fear. The settlers detest them for 

 their predacious habits and general ubiquity. They often nest under 

 the floors of the cabins, particularly if deserted, and after the settlers 

 have turned in, they enter very unceremoniously, prvmg into every 

 thing, filling the clothes of the men with quills and working woe with 

 the pork and beans designed for breakfast. In one case a crew of 

 lumbermen was summarily awakened to find that an inquisitive 

 "porky" had crawled into bed with them. It is needless to add that 

 the previous occupants did not stop to parley, but left him in undis- 

 puted possession. For these reasons the settlers usually dispatch them 

 with clubs or axes, whenever they find them. This method is prefera- 

 ble to shooting, for, on the one hand, they are very fat and sluggish 

 animals and rarely attempt to escape, and, on the other hand, their 

 reptilian tenacity to life makes the effect of a rifle ball very uncertain. 



An animal riddled with rifle balls will sometimes climb to the top of 

 a tall tree to expire in its crest. Their perfect protection from their 

 enemies of the forest is to be their ultimate destruction, for it has fa- 

 vored those structural and mental peculiarities which make them an 

 easy prey to mankind. As the settlers take posseNsion of their native 

 woods, it is perfectly obvious that the porcupines are a doomed race, 

 soon to be found, like the American Bison, only in parks and zoologi- 

 cal gardens. 



