106 Quadrupeds. 
THE PORCUPINE. (Hystrix cristata.) 
When full grown this animal measures about two feet 
in length, and his body is covered with bair and sharp 
quills, from ten to fourteen inches long, and bent back- 
wards. When he is irritated, they stand erect ; but the 
story that the Porcupine can shoot them at his enemies, 
is only one of the many fables formerly related as facts 
in Natural History. The female has only one young one 
at a time. It is reported to live from twelve to fifteen 
years. The Porcupine is dull, fretful, and inoffensive ; 
it feeds upon fruits, roots, and vegetables ; and inhabits 
the south of Europe, and almost every part of Africa, 
particularly Barbary. 
THE COUEKDOU, (Hystrix, or Synetheres prehensilis,) 
Which is also called the Brazilian Porcupine, is chiefly 
found in Guiana, and differs from the common Porcu- 
pine, not only in the shortness of its spines, but also in 
the great length of its tail. This organ, which is a mere 
stump in the common species, and only of use to him by 
producing a rattling of its spines when shaken, in which 
he seems to take great delight, is nearly as long as the 
body in the Couendou, and as its extremity is nearly 
naked, and can be curled up very tightly, the animal 
makes use of it to cling to the branches of trees, amongst 
which he is fond of climbing. 
