. Wanderings in South America, the north-west of the United States and the Antilles in the years 1812, 1816, 1820 & 1824 : with original instructions for the perfect preservation of birds, etc. for cabinets of natural history . d the SandyPlover {St7epsihis interjires). Porcupine.—The species mentioned by Waterton is the Tree-Porcupine, or Coendoo {Cercolahes j^fehensilis), which, like thesloths, finds its nutriment in the trees and not on the Northern America there is an allied species, also living intrees and called the urson, cawquaw, or Canadian porcupine,from which the Indians,
. Wanderings in South America, the north-west of the United States and the Antilles in the years 1812, 1816, 1820 & 1824 : with original instructions for the perfect preservation of birds, etc. for cabinets of natural history . d the SandyPlover {St7epsihis interjires). Porcupine.—The species mentioned by Waterton is the Tree-Porcupine, or Coendoo {Cercolahes j^fehensilis), which, like thesloths, finds its nutriment in the trees and not on the Northern America there is an allied species, also living intrees and called the urson, cawquaw, or Canadian porcupine,from which the Indians, as they are called, procure the quillswith which they decorate their dresses and other articles, pre-viously staining them with dyes extracted from various herbs. 458 EXPLANATORY INDEX. Th6 Coendoo, however, may be distmguislied by its longprehensile tail, which can be coiled round the branches likethat of the spider-monkey and the little ant eater, which hasbeen already described. Its food consists of leaves, flowers, young twigs, and similarsubstances, and its flesh is said to be delicate and tender. Ifso, it very much belies the odour which proceeds from itsbody, and which is thus described by Charles Kingsley :—. PORCUWNE. More than once we became aware of a keen and dreadfulscent, as of a concentrated esi^ence of unwashed tropichumanity, which proceeded from that strange animal, thePorcupine with a prehensile tail, who prowls in the tree topsall night, and sleeps in them all day, spending his idle hoursin making this hideous smell. Probably he or his ancestorshave found it pay as a protection ; for no jaguar or tiger-cat,it is to be presumed, would care to meddle with any thing soexquisitely nasty, especially when it is all over sharp prickles. As to the theory that any animal, even the skunk itself, is EXPLANATORY INDEX. 459 protected by an evil odour^ Water ton always treats it In an essay on the weasel, he has the followingIemarks:— Many of the weas
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