rut: fit t:\ooo, OK ///;.///./ i.\ i-oitrrrixt:. 



t; ; 





manner of using the quills as means of defence. In the Park O >!! ii"ii was an adult Canada 



I'oivupiiie. in a lx>.\ with a small rabbit. Kach animal kept a* far from ill-- other a.-. poeisihle, 

 but in an nnluckv moment tin- nil'l'ii chano-d to approach near the 1'on upine, when in un 

 instant the tail of the latter was struck against tin- nil>bit, leaving hundred* of t he smaller 

 quills studding his fa.-.- ami shoulders. Like the African species, the larger and longer quills 

 are for oniani.-iit : the wcajMins an- the small ones mused just over the rump and base of tail. 

 The motion is SO qpfek it easilv escajes notice, h-iuv the uninformed obnHM i- Mad] to 

 that tin- quills are thrown out. 



This animal \\a. common in 

 Massachusetts during tin- tirM half 

 of this centtirv. Its nmp- is from 

 Maine to Kentucky, but it is not 

 seen on the sea-board. A \Vest.-rn 

 variety reaches as far as Ari/ona 

 and Ne\\ Mexico. It is often seen 

 in the albino state. 



Is Southern America, thePor- 

 cupin-s lind a representative in 

 the COEXDOO, an animal which is 

 not only remarkable for its array 

 of quills, but also for the prehen- 

 sile power of its long tail. 



As might be presumed, from 

 the pivhrii-il.' tail and the pecu- 

 liarly arm.-d claws, the Coendoo 

 is of arlmn-al habits, finding its 

 food among the lofty branches of 

 trees. On the level ground it is 

 slow and awkward, but among the 

 more congenial boughs it climbs 

 with great ease, drawing itself 

 from branch to branch by means 

 of its hooked claws; but seldom 

 using its tail, except as an aid in 

 descent. The food of this animal 

 consist of leaves, flowers, fniit. 

 bark, and the soft woody substance 

 of young and tender branches, 

 which it slices easily with its chisel-edged incisor teeth. During the summer months th<- 

 Coendoo becomes extremely fat, and its flesh is then in great request, being both delicate in 

 flavor and t.-nd.-r in character. The young of this animal are born in the month of September 

 or October, and are very few in number. 



The total length of the Coendoo is about three feet six inches, of which the tail occupies 

 one foot six inches. Its nose is thick and blunt, lik.- that of the common I'orcupine. and the 

 face is furnished with very long whisker-hairs of a deep black. The nuiii-rou- spines which 

 cover the body are parti -colored, being black in the centre and white at each extremity. Their 

 length is rather more than tuo im-hes on the back, an inch and a half on the fore-legs, and not 

 quite an inch on the hinder limbs. A number of short quills are also set upon the basal half 

 of the tail, the remainder of that organ being furnished with scales, and tapering to its 

 extremity. The color of the scales is black. The entire under surface of the tail is covered 

 with similar scales, among which are interspersed a number of bright chestnut hairs. The 

 abdomen, breast, and inner face of the limbs are clothed with dense, brown, coarse hairs. 



It is a nocturnal animal ; sleeping by day, and feeding by night. 



lUKMMN). OR BRAZILIAN PUHl CP1.N .- 



