ioo THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



having their eyes open. The spines are soft at first, but soon harden 

 when exposed to the air. 



It is a powerful gnawing rodent, the large size of the teeth 

 and jaws aiding it in this respect, and in some districts a good 

 deal of harm is perpetrated among growing crops in the fields 

 and gardens. 



BRUSH-TAILED PORCUPINE. This is another species restricted 

 to the Old World and, like its congeners, is terrestrial in 

 its habits. It is, as Fig. 74 shows, considerably smaller than the 

 species exhibited in Fig. 73, and is described as more Rat-like than 

 the true Porcupines, "from which it is distinguished at a glance 

 by the long and scaly tail terminating in a tuft of bristles.'* The 

 spines are flattened and grooved, and of about the same length all 

 over the back, shoulders and hind-quarters. 



There are two species of Brush-Tailed Porcupines, one inhabit- 

 ing Western and Central Africa, whilst the second is restricted 

 to Burma and the Malay States. The Indian species measures up 

 to twenty-two inches over head and body, and in colour is dark- 

 brown above and whitish underneath. The longer quills on the 

 back portion of the body are white for the most part, whilst the 

 tips of the remaining quills and the bristles on the extremity of 

 the tail are white. The Crested Porcupine (Fig. 73) need only 

 be mentioned as possessing a crest of hairs on the shoulders which, 

 when raised, give the beast a very pleasant effect. 



CANADIAN PORCUPINE (Fig. 75). This is a Porcupine of the 

 New World, and although lacking the long prehensile tail of the 

 Tree Porcupines, it is a good climber, arboreal in its habits, and 

 strips trees of their leaves in no uncertain manner. It is also 

 known as the Urson and Cawquaw, and is an inhabitant of Canada 

 and almost the whole of the United States in spite of the first part 

 of its name. It may be further distinguished by the possession of 

 only three teats in the female, "the absence of a cleft in the upper 

 lip, by the naked soles of the feet being covered by a number of 

 tubercles," and "by the want of the first toe in the fore-foot." There 

 are other structural differences as compared with the species 

 previously dealt with, but these need not be detailed. The body 

 is clothed with long brown hair, which almost hides the stumpy 

 barbed spines; these latter are white, tipped with brownish. For 

 an animal measuring only twenty-four inches in length, this species 

 is heavy-looking and clumsy. It weighs from fifteen to twenty 



