NATURAL HISTORY. 



" Immortal maid ! 



I own thy presence, and confess thy aid ; 

 Not fear, thou know'st, withholds me from the plains, 

 Nor sloth has seized me, but thy word restrains." POPE. 



also are so mohile that she can take in sounds from every quarter ; her eyes am 

 never shut, and although she without doubt sleeps, yet her visual organs are so 

 framed as never to be veiled, and her sleep is also so light as to instantaneously 

 communicate through them and her ears the approach of danger. If discovered, 

 her speed would in most cases save her from common foes ; but she is assailed on 

 one part by dogs artificially bred with superior scenting powers, or on the other 

 with such as, though almost scentless, are fleet as the wind. Poor puss 1 ! * 



401. Wliy are the eyes of hares never closed ? 



Because they are unprovided with eye-lids. Instead thereof 

 they have a thin membrane which covers the eye when asleep, and 

 probably, also, when at rest. This membrane (like that which will 

 hereafter be described in connection with certain, birds) folds 

 like a curtain in the corner of the eye, and by an instantaneous 

 action flies back, when sight is required, and leaves the eye 

 immediately and fully open for the exercise of sight, 



ORDER VI. EDENTATA. 



402. Why is the sixth order of animals named Edentata 1 



Because they are toothless ; the name being derived from the 

 Latin edentatus, deprived of teeth. 



Although this order includes animals which differ widely in their 

 habits, they all agree in the absence of teeth from the front jaw ; 

 all resemble eachot her in the great claws which encompass the 

 ends of their toes ; and they are distinguished by remarkable slow- 

 ness, or want of activity, arising from the peculiar organisation of 

 their limbs. 



403. Why is the AI, or sloth, so called? 



Because it utters a peculiarly plaintive note, of which the sound 

 of the vowels ai is a close imitation. 



404. Why do sloths utter this sound upon the approach of 

 storms ? 



Because storms refresh the foliage upon which they feed, and 



BKine's "Rural Sports." 



