Yellow-haired Porcupine 6i 
the belly, but it is more than likely that even then some of 
the quills would find their way into the stomach. 
In spite of their generally harmless and inoffensive ways, 
porcupines at times do considerable damage about miners' 
cabins which are left vacant and into which they have suc- 
ceeded in gaining an entrance in some manner. Everything 
wooden is apt to be well gnawed before the animal is done 
with the place. The attraction seems to be the salty taste 
of the articles resulting from human handling, and of course 
there are often many things about these places which have 
had salty articles in them, and these, such as butter-tubs, 
are almost devoured entirely. So disliked are they for this 
habit that many men think it best to kill a porcupine on sight 
just to keep it out of mischief. Although they gnaw much 
bark on trees, especially in winter, this does not appear to harm 
the trees, at least permanently, as they are never completely 
girdled, so far as my observations go. 
Family ZAPODID^ 
Terrestrial rodents with small internal cheek pouches and 
with long hind limbs adapted for jumping, in which the 
metatarsals are separated and the toes five in number; tail 
longer than the head and body; upper incisors compressed 
and grooved in front; pm. ^ small; molars rooted. 
A small family confined to North America, excepting one 
species. 
Genus ZAPUS (Grk. za. intensive + pous, foot) 
Zapus Coues, Bull. U . S. Geol. Sur. Terr., i., 2d Ser,, No. 5, p. 
253 (1875). 
Type. — Dipus hudsonius. 
Revision, Preble, A^. A. Fauna, No. 15 (1899). 
Body enlarged posteriorly; hind legs and tail greatly developed, 
the latter much exceeding the length of head and body ; tail slender, 
uniformly tapering; first digit of the hand rudimentary, nail blunt; 
pelage coarse; upper parts ochraceous with dark dorsal band; 
under parts white. 
