[Illustration: PORCUPINES.]
The Porcupines are singular animals, endowed with a very peculiar
faculty, that of causing their body, which is covered with quills, to
bristle up, and thus forming for themselves a formidable armor. The
small family of Porcupines is divided into four genera—Porcupines
proper, the Brush-Tailed Porcupine, the Canadian Porcupine and the
Prehensile Porcupines.