155 



27 (in part).— Baird, Mam. N. Amer., 1858, 568.— Allen, Bull. 

 Mus. Comp. Zool., i, 1869, 235; Mon. N. A Rodentia, 1877, 388. 

 —Jordan, Man. Vertebrates, 1878, 34, 2d ed. 

 1771. Canada Porcupine, Pennant, " Syn., 1771, 266; Hist. Quad., 1781, 

 No. 257;" Artie Zoology, i, 1784, 109.— Gilpin, Proc. and Trans. 

 Nova Scotia Inst. Nat. Sci., ii, 1870, 89. 



Description. — General color brownish-black, varied above with yellowieh- 

 white. Body above densely clothed with long, soft, rather woolly hair, 

 intermixed with straight, coarse hair and bristles. The latter are four 

 to six inches long, usually tipped with yellowish white, the light tip 

 from one-fourth to seven-eighths the length of the hair — rarely obsolete 

 or extending to the base. Beneath this, and usually concealed by the 

 pelage proper, on the dorsal surface, are erectile barbed quills, from one 

 to four inches in length. These are usually white at the base and black 

 at the tip, the black varying from one-tenth to one-fourth the length of 

 the quill ; a few are entirely black, and others occur entirely white. The 

 quills begin on the nose as short, stifiened, pointed hairs, pass into short 

 spines between the eyes, and so continue to increase in size posteriorly, 

 becoming longest over the hips, on the lower part of the back, and upper 

 side of base of tail ; toward the end of the tail they pass again into long, 

 thick bristles and stiff hairs. The young are born without quills, and of 

 a uniform black color. Adults average thirty-five to forty inches in total 

 length ; the head is about six inches, and tail vertebrae about the same. 



Distribution. — The Eastern Porcupine formerly ranged through most ot 

 New England and New York, and over most of the region south of the 

 Great Lakes and north of the Ohio. Northward it extends to the limit 

 of trees, and to the westward probably to the great Saskatchewan Plains- 

 where it merges into the western form. Being a forest animal, it hat 

 disappeared with the forests. In 1840, Dr. Emmons gave it as common 

 near Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is found on Mount Monadnock. 

 southern New Hampshire, central and northern Maine, and in portions 

 of Pennsylvania. Godman (Amer. Nat. History, 1826) states, on the 

 authority of Dr. Best, that the " Porcupine is seldom found in Ohio south 

 of Dayton ; " but that they were still numerous on St. Mary's River (1826). 

 Mr. Allen states (Monographs of North American Rodentia, page 393), 

 on the authority of Dr. J. M. Wheaton, that a few still survive in Clarke, 

 Champaign, and Ross counties, and that it was common ten years ago in 

 Putnam county. Dr. Wheaton informs me that one was killed in No- 

 vember, 1878, on the line of Wood and Hancock counties, by Mr. H. L. Dunn, 

 of Columbus, and that in that locality they were not uncommon, though 

 less numerous than formerly. Mr. E. W. Nelson, of Chicago, informs Mr. Al- 



