124 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



erally composed of from three to nine 

 transverse bands, and when these are 

 complete, the armadillo has the power 

 to roll itself up into a ball as a means 

 of protection against its enemies. 



Just now I am preparing a contri- 

 bution on the armadillos, and so will 

 not have much to say here in detad 

 about them. Recently I have macin 

 some very successful photographs 

 from life of the nine-banded one, which 



graphs, several of 8 x id size. Other 

 material was also obtained from this 

 pair later on. They are delicate and 

 do not thrive well in captivity for some 

 reason or other, and so do not live long 

 in that state. 



Very few good photographs of liv- 

 ing armadillos are in existence so the 

 ones obtained by me from the afore- 

 ; aid pair are much to be prized. One 

 of these made by a 5x8 camera has 



• ' ' . *. ♦ • « Ti »■« 



i •♦•*/♦' 







TEXAN ARMADILLO ROLLING INTO A BALL. 



Photographed from life, by the author. 



is found in southern Texas, and pre- 

 served their skeletons and coats of mail 

 for future descriptions. 



Mr. Edward S. Schmid, who has the 

 animal establishment at 712-12U1 

 Street, Washington, D. C, and to 

 whom I have been so frequently in- 

 debted for loans and gifts of various 

 kinds of animals, has, on several occa- 

 sions, had in his collection living spe- 

 cimens of several of the different 

 species of armadillos. Some ten years 

 ago he had a female nine-banded one, 

 which had a litter of young, only a few 

 days old. Something or other preven- 

 ted me from getting a photograph of 

 this group, — a fact that I have never 

 ceased to regret. Last summer, how- 

 ever, I was more successful, and when 

 he loaned me a pair of three-quarter 

 grown females of the same species, 

 taken in southern Texas, the best was 

 made of the opportunity, and I secured 

 from life a valuable series of photo- 



been reproduced, and, as a cut, illus- 

 trates the present article. 



It shows the animal in the very act 

 of rolling itself up into a ball, a feat 1 

 succeeded in having it perform by 

 gently tapping it on the bony plate 

 covering the top of its head with a lit- 

 tle rod I held in my hand. It is one 

 of the most interesting things in the 

 world of nature to watch the ease and 

 rapidity with which an armadillo of 

 this species can do this feat. In the 

 figure, the act is all but performed, and 

 it is most interesting to note the posi- 

 tion of the feet, the head, and the tail. 



From this pair of armadillos I 

 learned a good deal as to their habits, 

 which I never knew before, especially 

 as to the manner of their feeding, their 

 peculiar traits and behavior, and the 

 wonderful strength they possess. 



There is no Sanitorium to compare with 

 the great out-of-doors. 



