46 WILD LIFE IN NORTH CANARA. 



bush, when I sent for a gun and shot 

 it. The porcupine makes havoc of 

 melons, pine-apples, and all gourds ; but 

 he cannot cross a deep ditch with steep 

 sides, and is thus easily excluded. One 

 of the simplest ways of trapping him 

 is to dig a shelving trench with steep 

 sides narrowing gradually to a width 

 in which the porcupine cannot turn; 

 draw back he cannot, because the set 

 of his quills prevents backing, so that 

 if such a trench is baited with pieces 

 of pine-apple towards the narrow end, 

 the porcupine who follows it is hope- 

 lessly involved. On certain occasions 

 porcupines fight desperately, tearing 

 each other frightfully with their long 

 incisor teeth. 



On the northern side of the pro- 



