Feb., 1912. Mammals of Illinois and Wisconsin — Cory. 255 



except on the lower back, hips, and sides of base of tail where they 



are longest; quills blackish at tip, whitish at base, the largest ones 



having a length of from 3 to 4 inches, they lie flat but can be erected 



by muscular contraction; incisors deep orange. 

 Measurements — Total length, about 35 in. (890 mm.); tail, 5.50 to 



6.50 in. (152 mm.); hind foot, 3.50 in. (90 mm.). 



At the present time the range of the Porcupine within our limits 

 is restricted to northern Wisconsin, but in early days it probably 

 extended considerably farther south. Porcupines are still common 

 in the forested regions from Marathon County, Wisconsin, northward, 

 and individuals are occasionally seen in Wood, Jackson, Clark and 

 Buffalo counties, which appear to be about the southern limits of 

 their present range in the state. 



I have been unable to find any satisfactory proof of its occurrence 

 in Illinois, although in early days it is not unlikely that it may have 

 inhabited some of the northern counties. Kennicott writes, ''I am 

 not aware that it has been observed in northern Illinois, although it 

 is said to inhabit Whiteside County and the banks of the Illinois River" 

 (/. f:., p. 91). I have been informed that years ago it was occasionally 

 found in Jo Daviess County, but upon investigation the evidence 

 proved unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, Mr. Edward Grimm of Galena 

 writes me, he believes it was formerly found in that county. In Indiana, 

 however, its range is known to have extended to the southern portion 

 of the state, and it was apparently not uncommon in several of the 

 extreme western counties in close proximity to Illinois. The Prince 

 of Wied states that it was rare in Posey County at the time of his 

 visit to New Harmony in 1832. Evermann and Butler cite numerous 

 records for Indiana, the latest being a specimen taken in Grant County, 

 in 1892 (/. c, p. 125); but Hahn believes it probably survived along 

 the Kankakee River a few years later (/.t.,p. 532). Mr. E. J. Chansler 

 of Bicknell, Indiana, writes me that old men told him Porcupines were 

 common in Knox County in early days, and that Mr. T. F. Chambers 

 saw one near Chambers Pond in that county in 1864. There are two 

 specimens in the State Museum at Indianapolis claimed to have been 

 taken in Laporte County, Indiana, but the date is not given. Dr. John 

 T. Plummer states that several Porcupines were killed in the suburbs 

 of Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana, and that he had a fine speci- 

 men in his collection captured near the town (Amer. Joum. Sci. & 

 Arts, XLVI, 1844, p. 248). 



The Porcupine is an inhabitant of the forests and spends the greater 

 part of its time in trees. When on the ground its movements are slow 

 and clumsy, and it appears to have little fear of man, which often leads 

 to its undoing, as its sharp pointed quills, which are held in great 



