214 THE STORY OF THE PORCUPINE. 



It is capable of depressing the bristling spears, and can squeeze itself through 

 an opening which would appear at first sight to be hardly large enough to 

 permit the passage of an animal of only half its size. 



When one of these animals 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 incred- 

 ible that so large and clumsy an animal should be able to climb out far 

 enoueh on the branches of trees to reach the terminal leaves; but he dis- 

 tributes 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 a hawk. 



The Mexican tree-porcupine belongs to a family which has hair so long 

 as almost to conceal the spines. It is easily distinguished by the uniform 

 black color of the fur, and also by the presence of numerous spiny bristles 

 mingled with the hair of the lower parts of the body. These bristles arise 

 in small clusters, and being white for the greater part of their length, form 

 star-like spots among the dark fur. These bristles and the spines on the 

 back are black at the tips. 



This species inhabits the forests on the eastern coasts of Mexico. Noth- 

 ing special is recorded of its habits; but from observations made on captive 

 individuals it is probable that none of the tree-porcupines ever drink. It 

 is stated that in those long-haired species in which the fur is of a grayish 

 tint, the general appearance of the animal when reposing on the arm of 

 a tree closely resembles a gnarled and lichen-clad knot. 



The brush-tailed porcupine, of which one species inhabits Western and 

 Central Africa, and the other Burma and the Malayan region, are much 

 smaller and more rat-like animals than the true porcupines, from which 

 they are distinguished at a glance. 



A species of porcupine has been discovered in Borneo, distmguished 

 by its short spines. 



From the large size of their teeth and jaws, porcupines have great 

 gnawing powers, and the writer has seen in India tusk of elephants which 

 have been half-eaten by these animals as they lay in the jungles. The flesh 

 of porcupines is excellent eating, and resembles something between pork 

 and veal in flavor. 



