EDENTATA. 527 



it lives entirely upon the foliage, the buds, and the young shoots. 

 To this singular mode of life, tlie structure of the Sloths is adapted 

 with the same consummate wisdom and slrill which are manifest in 

 all other works of God. The Sloth spends his whole life in the trees ; 

 and what is more extraordinary, not upon the branches, but under 

 them — he rests suspended from a bough, and he sleeps suspended 

 from it. To enable him to do this, he must have a very different 

 formation from any otlier quadruped. There is a saying among the 

 Indians, that wlien the wind blows, the Sloth begins to travel. In 

 calm weather he remains tranquil, probably not liking to cling to the 

 brittle extremities of the branches lest they should break with him in 

 passing from one tree to another ; but as soon as the wind rises the 

 boughs of the neighbouring trees become interwoven, and then the 

 Sloth seizes hold of them, and pursues his journey in safety. He 

 travels at a good round pace, and as he swings l.dmself from tree to 

 tree with indefatigable inelustry, seems little to merit the commisera- 

 tion generally exteueled to him by writers who have never seen him 

 in his state of activity. 



The Armadillos (Dasifpus^) are remarkable amongst a^ other 

 quadrupeds, by having tiie head, body, and often the tail, covered by 

 a hard stony coat, arranged in compartments something like a 

 mosaic pavement. This substance, which may be consideretl a kinel 

 of agglutinated hair, forms a broad buckler over the forehead, a 



^"N 



--iV^ 





Fig. 454. — weasel-headed armadillo. 



second, very large and convex over the shoulders, a ihird, similar to 

 the preceding, on tlic crupper; and between these two last, tliere are 

 several parallel and moveable bands which allow the body to be 

 bent. The tail is sometimes furnished with successive rings, some- 

 times, like the legs, only with detached pieces. These animals have 

 large ears, sometimes four, sometimes five toes on their fore feet, 



Saavs, elasys, liainj ; ttSvs, pons, afoot—Jiairy-footed. 



