OKDER X. THE ROUEXTIA. oM 



the family ILislric'ur, or Porcupines, wliich arc ranged under five sub- 

 genera: Ili/slri.v, ErctlnsoH., ISijncthrres, Ccrcolabc.s, and ^[//icnirux, em- 

 hracing ten S2)ecics. — The Crested Porcupine, JI. crl)it((t(t, is remarkable 

 i'or its crest or crown, and the U. Iju(f'onu for its prehensile tail. 



E. Doivalu. — This species is common in the Northern States of the 

 Union and Canada. The peculiar feature of the animal is the armor of 

 long, sliar[)-pointcd spines with which the upper part of the body is clothed, 

 rendering it invulnerable to the common beasts of [irey. The older natural- 

 ists, and even many of the modern, down to the time of Ballon, entertained 

 very erroneous ojilnions in regard to the porcupine, aflirming that when at- 

 tacked or enraged it hurled its sharp spines against its enemies with a force 

 " sufficient to pierce a, [)lank."' This is far from the truth, "\^'e have seen 

 the animal frerjuently in all situations, and are satisfied that it has no power 

 to throw its spines at will. The error probably arose from the fact that 

 when exasperated, or under the necessity of defending itself, the porcujiinc 

 turns its back tov,'ards the enemy, biu-ies its head between its fore legs, 

 erects its quills, and shaking them violently, pushes backward against its 

 f)e with such energy as to fjrce the sharp points of the spines into 

 his flesh, inflicting painful wounds. As the quills are but slightly at- 

 tached to the skin, tlicy arc often detached in an encounter, and left in 

 the wound. 



The panoply of this curious animal deserves a more particidar description. 

 The head is ornamented with a long crest of slender, tapering bristles, capa- 

 ble of being ele\'atcd or depressed at pleasure, and the fore and hinder limbs, 

 as well as the under parts of the body, arc cli)thcd with stilf, short bristles, 

 of a black color, Ij'ing close upon the skin. The dorsal spines are of two 

 kinds ; some, which seem intended to form a sort of cloak to the otlicrs, are 

 very long, weak, and slender, and incapable of inflicting injury. Tiie main 

 bed of spines, however, consists of shafts of great strength and solidity, from 

 four to seven or eight inches in length, thick in tlie middle, and tapering to 

 each end. The end inserted into the skin is formed into a small pedicle, the 

 other end is extremely sharp and prolongcil. Thus, by the action of a sub- 

 cutaneous muscle, of great extent and considerable thickness, termed paii- 

 ■>iicii!ns caritostig, the animal is capable of raising them, clashing them, or 

 depressing thcni at pleasure. In their ordinary state tiiey lie nearly flat 

 upon the body, with their [loints directed backward, but when elevated they 

 radiate in every direction. If we take one of these spines, and examine it, 

 we shall find that, in structure, it closely rcsemljles the shaft of a quill- 

 fcather, except that it is more dense and hard ; but internally it consists of a 

 pithy substance, invested with a coat of hard enamel, of which the point is 

 entirely composed. On looking at the point more narrowdy, we shall see 



