TOOTHLESS ANIMALS. 245 



the same plate with a cat and a dog. This hare would knock 

 a book out of its master's hand to secure his attention. 

 The Common The Common Rabbit is found all over the 

 Babbit. British Isles, as well as in France and Spain; 

 and in the north of Africa where it is indigenous. It is 

 smaller than the hare and lives in burrows, in large num- 

 bers, completely honey-combing sand hills which are covered 

 with grass and vegetation. Before producing her young, the 

 female forms a separate burrow where she conceals them 

 after birth. This is done to protect them from the male 

 who destroys, if he discovers them. The young are born 

 blind and gain their sight after ten days. They are a month 

 old before they are allowed to leave the burrow. 



ORDER XI. Curiously enough this order, though de- 

 Toothiess nominated toothless, includes several animals 

 Animals. which have well developed dental arrange- 

 ments. In these, however, the teeth are not found in the 

 front of the jaw, and those which are found are elementary 

 and simple. Several families are classified with this order, of 

 which the Sloth, the Pangolin, the Armadillo, the Cape Ant- 

 Bear, and the Ant-Eater are the best known representatives. 



The Sloth. The Sloth belongs to South America. " In its 

 wild state," says Waterton, " the Sloth spends its whole life in 

 the trees, and never leaves them but through force or acci- 

 dent, and, what is more extraordinary, not upon the branches, 

 like the squirrel and monkey, but under them. He moves 

 suspended from the branch, he rests suspended from the 

 branch, and he sleeps suspended from the branch. " " In fact," 

 says the Rev. J. G. Wood, "as Sydney Smith observes, he 

 passes a life of suspense, like a curate distantly related to a 

 Bishop. To render it fit for this singular mode of life, its 

 long and powerful arms are furnished with strong curved 

 daws, which hook round the branches, and keep the animal 

 suspended without any effort. When on the ground, these 

 claws are very inconvenient, and it can barely shuffle 



