..^♦U'N I T ED^TAT E S 

 OF AGRICULTURE 



WITH UNCLE SJUl'S IIATUPALISTS 



KELSA.se Friday, Octobea>>^^ ISiSl ' 



FOR BROADCAST FJnPOSIilS 



AMOUIICSSTT: ITow let's spend a few mouents -vith Uncle Sam»s Naturalists of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture. Today oux Wilds Man brings us 

 sone interestinr facts about sone of the animals and trees which are a part 

 of that facinating struggle we call outdoor life Well, Mr. Wilds Man? 



Tliere are a nurr.ber of -ooints to r.:;r subject toua;;-, 



siiarp -ooints; barbed points. 



Some of those points are on the quills of the friendly 

 porcripine 



But before we go any fi^rther, let's get one thing right. 

 Porcupines don't shoot or throvr those quills at their enemies. That's 

 the idea I used to have, I used to think those big, clumsy-loo' :ing 

 rodents liad some way of propelling quills from their body li'ze so many 

 darts or javelins, Ilr, Vernon Bailey, a fiuld natvxalist of the U,S, 

 Biological Siirvey, set nc right on th^t. 



Ho knows his porcu-oinos, and he says what really hap-^jcr.s, 

 is that Porlc;^- tlirashcs out with that^stout tr?.il of his, and scr'.o of those 

 spiny quills are often driven into the flesh of the attacking animal. 

 Barbed as they axe, they pull out of the porcunine's tail by the roots before 

 they will come out of the animal that gets stuck. In fact, the more the 

 victim tries to get those barbed quills out, the further they penetrate into 

 its muscles. Sometimes an animal gets porcupine quills in its nose or 

 mouth or to";ig"iae. Those narts get swollen and prevent the animal from 

 eatirg aiu- it starves to death, 



".lost animals have a wholesome respect for the porcupine and 

 don't TDusl'' «;he attack. But some dogs will go right in where more cautious 

 animals foa.r to tread, TThen a dog gets a moii-thffj. of those little quills, 

 about the best thing to do, is to shoot the do^. 



Yet the porcupine is not really vicious, Mr, Bailey says it is 

 a timid ^nir.ial, and a rather friendly sort of fellow when it gets to Icnbw 

 you. 



Tliose laairs on 'lis back and side tliat have developed into quills 

 are just '^is defense equipment, for use when in actual cont^.ct with an 

 enemy, TTith those short legs of his, he can't run awaj'. His ordinary 

 speed is abov.t the same as thn.t of p. turtle. If it liad not beep for those 

 bristling quills, porcupines would probably have disappeared from the face 

 of the earth long ago. 



