such rare sport to the hunters, is represented in Fig. 60.

Fig. 60.-Hare.

The Rabbit, which is every where domesticated, is smaller than the Hare, but is like it in form. It lives in a burrow, while the Hare lives in a sort of nest which it constructs from grass.

124. We now pass to the Edentata or toothless Quadrupeds. This term applies only to a part of the order, the Ant-eaters and the Pangolins. The Sloth and the Armadilloes have back teeth, but they are imperfect.

125. That singular animal, the Crested Ant-eater, Fig. 61 (p. 74), is found in Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay. It is nearly four feet long. It lives both on common ants and the termites or white ants. With its strong claws it tears open their habitations, and then thrusts in its long tongue. This, being covered with a gummy saliva, has, when withdrawn, a multitude of ants adhering to it, which the animal swallows.

126. The Pangolins, or Manidæ (plural of Manis), are ant-eaters, and take the ants in the same way that the Crested Ant-eater does. They are remarkable for being encased in an armor of horny scales. When attacked, they roll themselves up, and raise their sharp-edged scales

D

Fig. 61.-Crested Ant-eater.

as the Hedgehog does his spines. The Long-tailed Manis, Fig. 62, is a native of Africa.

Fig. 62.-Long-tailed Manis.

127. The Armadilloes are found only in South America. The armor which covers them is different from that of the Pangolins. It is a sort of plate-armor. One species, the Six-banded, is represented in Fig. 63 (p. 75). The natives consider these animals a great delicacy when

Fig. 63.-Six-banded Armadillo.

roasted in their shells. The Armadilloes live on carrion, insects, and fruit. They are all small, except one species, which is called the Gigantic Armadillo, and weighs a hundred pounds or more.

128. The Sloth, Fig. 64, differs from all other arboreal

Fig. 64.-Sloth.

Quadrupeds in its manner of climbing. It always has its back downward, as seen in the figure. It has been common to consider this animal as imperfectly constructed,

and even Cuvier speaks of the "inconveniency of its organization," and says of it that "nature seems to have amused herself in producing something grotesque and imperfect." But there is perfect adaptation here, as in every other animal, of the organization to the habits. It is constructed to live just in the way that it does, and moves about in the trees with great facility. It has been known to go from the bottom to the top of a high tree in a minute's time. With its strong curved claws it sleeps hanging from the branches of a tree as easily as a bird sleeps on its perch. The three species of Sloths are found only in the forests of the tropical portion of South America. They live on the leaves of trees.

129. The order of Marsupials is named from a pouch or bag (Latin, marsupium) which the females have for carrying their young for some time after birth. The young are born in an immature helpless state, and a sort of nest is thus provided for them in the body of the mother. Even after they have become able to leave it, they flee to it whenever they are alarmed. There are about eighty species. All of these animals are found only in Australia and the neighboring islands, except the Opossums, which are found on the western continent, especially in South America.

130. The Great Kangaroo, Fig. 65 (p. 77), a native of Australia, has very long and powerful hind legs, and can make leaps of fifteen feet. Its fore feet are short and small, and are used more as hands than as feet. Its length is about five feet, and its tail is three feet long. There are many different species of Kangaroos, all having a general resemblance to this.

131. The Opossums are peculiar to America. There are about twenty species. They are arboreal in their habits, and they are assisted in their climbing, like some of the Monkey tribe, by their tails, which are long and scaly. In one other respect they are still more allied to the Monkeys. The inner toe of the hinder foot is some

what like a thumb, as it can be brought in opposition to the other toes for grasping. They can therefore be called, like the monkeys, Pedimana, or foot-handed animals. The pouch in the abdomen for their young, however,

Fig. 66.-Virginia Opossum.

places them decidedly among the Marsupials.

132. The Virginia Opossum, Figure 66, found in many of the Southern States of this country, is one of the largest of the genus, being about the size of a cat. It is nocturnal and arboreal. It remains in