572 THE PORCUPINE 
approximates closely to the quill-hairs of the true porcupines, being either flat and 
erooved above, or developed into flexile spines. he tail is but sparely covered with 
hair, and is rather short in proportion to the size of its owner. The hinder feet are only 
furnished with four toes, armed with large, rounded, and rather blunt claws. The ears 
are short and rounded. 
The Porcupine has long been rendered famous among men by the extraordinary 
armoury of pointed spears which it bears upon its back, and which it was formerly 
fabled to launch at its foes with fatal precision. 
This animal inhabits many parts of the world, being found in Africa, Southern 
Europe, and India. The spines, or quills, with which it is furnished, vary considerably 
in leneth, the longest quills being flexible, and not capable of doing much harm 
to an opponent. Beneath these is a plentiful supply of shorter spines, from five to ten 
inches in length, which are the really effective weapons of this imposing array. Their 
hold on the skin is very slight, so that when they have been struck into a foe, they 
remain fixed in the wound, and, unless immediately removed, work sad woe to the 
sufferer. For the quill is so constructed, that it gradually bores its way into the flesh, 
burrowing deeper at every movement, and sometimes even causing the death of the 
wounded creature. In Africa and India, leopards and tigers have frequently been killed 
in whose flesh were pieces of Porcupine quills that had penetrated deeply into the body, 
and had even caused suppuration to take place. In one instance, a tiger was found to 
have his paws, ears, and head filled with the spines of a Porcupine, which he had vainly 
been endeavouring to kill. 
Conscious of its powers, the Porcupine is not at all an aggressive animal, and seldom, 
if ever, makes an unprovoked attack. But if irritated or wounded, it becomes at once a 
very unpleasant antagonist, as it spreads ont its bristles widely, and rapidly backs upon 
its opponent. There are few horses which will face an irritated Porcupine ; and even the 
preliminary rustle of the quills with which a Porcupine generally prepares every attack, 
is sufficient to make an ordinary horse flee in terror. The rustling sound is produced by 
a number of hollow quills which grow upon the Porcupine’s tail, and which, when that 
member is agitated, clash against each other with a sound very like the peculiar ruffling 
of a peacock’s train. 
The Porcupine is a nocturnal animal, seldom venturing out of its retreat as long as 
the sun is above the horizon, and is therefore not often seen even in the localities which it 
most prefers. It is said not to require the presence of water, but to quench its thirst by 
eating the succulent roots and plants which it digs out of the ground. Its food is entirely 
of a vegetable nature, and censists of various kinds of herbage, as well as of bark, fruit, 
and roots. This animal takes up its abode in deep burrows which it excavates, and 
in which it is supposed to undergo a partial hibernation. 
As the spines of the Porcupines are of some commercial value, and are used for 
many purposes, the chase of the animal is rather popular in the countries which it 
inhabits, and derives a further interest from the fact that the Porcupine, although a timid 
creature, can make a very powerful resistance when it is driven to despair. In fighting, 
it depends wholly on its quills, and does not attempt to make the least use of its strong 
and sharp incisor teeth, which are able to cut their way through the hardest wood as if it 
were butter, and would inflict most dangerous wounds. So far, indeed, is it from making 
any use of these formidable weapons, that its first care is to protect its head, being 
probably led to that course of action by its fear for its nose, which is so sensitive that 
the animal is stunned by a comparatively sheht blow on that organ. 
It does not appear to be very susceptible of domestication, probably because it cannot 
find teachers who are sufficiently fearless of its quills to pay very close attention to it. 
With the exception of the hollow quills in the tail, the spines are encircled with alternate 
rings of black and white, producing a very rich contrast of colouring. The upper parts 
of the body are covered with hair instead of quills, and upon the head and neck there is 
a kind of crest, composed of very long stiff hairs, which can be erected or depressed at 
pleasure. Like the hedgehog, it can coil itself into a ball when it is surprised at a 
