364 0)1 the Canada Porcupine. 



sliew the path ; what a pretty creature to carry home in our arms I 

 It seems too gentle to bite ; let us catch it. We run towards it ; 

 it makes no effort to escape, but waits for us ; it raises its tail, as 

 if to invite us to take hold of its brush ; we seize it instanter, and 

 grasp it with the energy of a miser clutching a box of diamonds ; 

 a short struggle ensues, — when faugh ! we are suffocated ; our 

 eyes, nose and f^ice are suddenly bespattered with the most hor- 

 rible fetid fluid. Imagine to yourself, reader, our surprise, our 

 disgust, the sickening feelings that almost overcome us. We drop 

 our prize and take to our heels, too stubborn to cry, but too much 

 alarmed and discomfited, just now, to take another look at the 

 cause of our misfortune, and effectually undeceived as to the real 

 character of this seemingly mild and playful little fellow." 



The principal synonym of this species is Me2')hitis Americana. 

 The name Chinga was given by Tiedimann, in 1808. As we have 

 not access to that work, we cannot give the etymology of the 

 w^ord, unless it is derived from the Greek verb chenga^ to pour 

 out or diffuse. 



ARTICLE LIT. — On the Canada Porcupine, [Hystrix dorsata.) 



GENUS HYSTRIX.— Linn. 



Dental Formula. 

 Incisive^ |- ; Canine^ g — g ; Molar, | — J =20. 



Superior incisors on the anterior portion, smooth, cruciform 

 at their extremity ; inferior incisors, sti'ong and compressed ; 

 molars, compound, with flat cro^\ns, variously modified by plates 

 of enamel, between which are depressed intervals. Head, strong ; 

 snout, thick and turned ; ears, short and round ; tongue, bristled 

 with scaly spines ; fore-feet, four-toed ; hind feet, five-toed ; all the 

 toes armed with powerful nails. 



Spines on the body, sometimes intermixed with hairs ; tail, 

 moderately long, in some species of the genus prehensile. Herbi- 

 vorous, feeding principally on grain, fruits, roots and the bark of 

 trees ; dig holes in the earth, or nestle in the hollows of trees. 



The generic name is derived from the Greek word hustrix, a 

 porcupine ; hus, a hog, and trix, a bristle. There are two species 

 in North, and three in South America, one in Southern Europe, 

 one in Africa, and one in India. 



