Hystrix Cristata. Linn.

Although the Rodent order, next to the Carnivorous, is the most numerous in species, the Porcupine is the only animal belonging to it which is at present contained in the Menagerie. The animals of this division, consisting chiefly of “rats and mice and such small deer,” have indeed, with some few exceptions, so little of interest for the mere casual visiter of an exhibition, that it is rarely that they are sought after unless by the scientific collector. They are at once distinguished from the Carnivora by the total absence of canine teeth; and have uniformly two incisors in each jaw, projecting forwards and generally of considerable size, separated from a variable number of grinders by a vacant space.

From the other animals of the order the Porcupines[162] are so readily distinguished by the long and pointed spines with which their body is armed, that it is unnecessary to dwell on their generic characters. The common Porcupine, when fully grown, as in the remarkably fine specimen ............