204 MAMMALIA. 



also feeds upon the foliage and twigs of the maple and birch, and 

 not infrequently comes to the water's edge to seek the lily-pads 

 within reach from the bank. He is also partial to the staple com- 

 modity of the region — the beechnut — and I have killed several 

 whose stomachs were distended with beechnut-meal. 



The Porcupine is more strictly nocturnal than the majority of 

 our mammals ; still, he occasionally ventures abroad in the day- 

 time. The greater part of his life is spent high in the trees, 

 though his den is usually concealed in some ledge of rocks. He 

 is not so active during extreme cold as at other times, but is not 

 known to hibernate. I have seen fresh tracks * leading to his hole 

 in a rocky side-hill in January, the thermometer indicating a tem- 

 perature of -27^ C. If ledges are not at hand, he is sometimes 

 found asleep under an old log or brush-heap, or in a hollow tree. 

 When he has selected and settled himself in a tree to his liking he 

 may not leave it, day or night, until he has denuded it of the whole 

 of its foliage. I have seen many hemlocks thus completely stripped, 

 not a green twig remaining, even on the smallest bough. It seems 

 incredible that so large and clumsy an animal should be able to 

 climb out far enough on the branches to reach the terminal leaves ; 

 but he distributes his weight by bringing several branches together, 

 and then, with his powerful paws, bends back their ends and passes 

 them through his mouth. When high in the tree-tops he is often 

 passed unnoticed, mistaken, if seen at all, for the nest of a crow or 

 hawk. 



He is very fond of salt and frequently comes around camp dur- 

 ing the night for the purpose of obtaining it. He will eagerly lick 

 a bag that has contained salt meat, or the dirt where brine has 

 been spilt. He takes pains to devour all pork and ham rinds that 

 fall in his way, and, if occasion offers, will gnaw a buttertub or 

 other wooden receptacle that has contained any saline substance. 



* His short legs allow his heavy body to drag in the snow, making even a deeper and broader 

 rut than the otter. His footprints are nearer together than those of the otter, and are of a different 

 pattern. 



