162 THE TOWER MENAGERIE. 
are so readily distinguished by the long and pointed 
spines with which their body is armed, that it is unneces- 
sary to dwell on their generic characters. The common 
Porcupine, when fully grown, as in the remarkably fine 
specimen figured over leaf, measures more than two feet 
from the tip of the nose to the origin of the tail. The 
spines, which are supported by a slender pedicel, thickly 
clothe the upper and posterior parts of the body, the 
largest being more than a foot in length; they are regu- 
larly surrounded by alternate rings of black and white. 
The head and neck are crested with long, bristly, black 
hairs, forming a kind of mane, and all the rest of the 
body is covered with short black hair. 
The Porcupine is a native of Africa and the south of 
Europe; he chooses for his abode the most arid and 
solitary situations, and passes the daytime secluded in 
the burrows which he digs for his habitation, quitting 
them only at night to provide his subsistence, which 
consists entirely of vegetable substances. He is a re- 
markably timid animal, and never makes use of his 
formidable weapons except in self-defence; if alarmed, 
his spines immediately become erected, and woe be to 
the enemy who should dare to attack him open-mouthed 
when in that posture. 
