THE PORCUPINE 



169 



These quills vary considerably in length. Those upon the 

 back sometimes measure as much as fifteen or sixteen inches, 

 but are not so formidable as the shorter and straighter spines 

 which grow among them. At the tip of the tail are about twenty 

 short, flattened spines. These, of course, are useless as weapons, 



Porcupine 



but can be clattered together with a loud and peculiar noise, 

 which proves very alarmii'ig to horses and other animals. 



The head, shoulders, limbs, and under parts of the body are 

 CuOthed only with short spines, intermixed with stiff, bristle-like 

 hairs. Upon the neck is a crest of long, curved bristles, from 

 twelve to fifteen inches in length. 



During the daytime the porcupine conceals itself in a crevice 

 among the rocks, or in a burrow which it has dug with its sharp, 

 strong claws. Its food is entirely of a vegetable character, and 

 principally consists of herbage, fruit, roots, and the bark of various 

 trees and shrubs. It is said that the animal is never known to 



