174 
ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
generally raised, by means of the subcutaneous muscles, 
almost at right angles with the surface to which they 
are attached, and present a very formidable appearance. 
They are not, however, it is still necessary to repeat, 
capable of being detached at pleasure, much less of 
being darted to a distance; although it is probable 
that, from the looseness of their attachment, they are 
occasionally broken off and remain fixed in substances 
into which they have been thrust. Those of the tail 
are, as it were, cut off in the middle, and are conse- 
quently open at their ends. They produce a loud 
rustling noise when the animal agitates its tail. Their 
use, according to M. Thunberg, is very peculiar; but 
we do not ask of our readers to credit the relation, 
which merely shows how easily even a respectable 
naturalist is sometimes imposed upon by his own 
credulity. He was informed, he says, that the Cey- 
lonese Porcupine " has a very curious method of 
fetching water for its young, viz. the quills in the tail 
are said to be hollow, and to have a hole at the extre- 
mity; and that the animal can bend them in such a 
manner as that they can be filled with water, which 
afterwards is discharged in the nest among the young." 
The Porcupine generally sleeps through the day in 
its solitary burrow, and quits it only in the evening in 
search of its food, which is almost entirely vegetable, 
and consists principally of roots, buds, and fruits. Its 
habitation has usually several distinct openings. It 
appears that in a state of nature it undergoes a partial 
hybernation ; but this sleep is not of long duration, and 
it ventures abroad again at the very commencement of 
the spring. In captivity it is quiet and peaceable, 
but manifests little inclination to become familiar, and 
scarcely evinces a shadow of intelligence. 
