122 NATURE'S TEACHINGS. 



Among the Polynesians cocoa-nut fibre was at one time 

 employed as the material for armour. It was twisted into 

 small cords, and with these a sort of armour was constructed, 

 quite strong enough to resist any weapon that an enemy of their 

 own kind could bring against them. Sometimes- this armour was 

 merely a belt wide enough to protect the abdomen, but some- 

 times the whole body was defended, from the neck to the hips. 



In the United Service Museum there is a very remarkable 

 cuirass, which is made of successive rows of seals' teeth, each row 

 overlapping the other like the tiles of a house. It is very heavy, 

 weighing quite as much as a steel cuirass, and was probably 

 quite as effective against the primitive weapons which could be 

 brought to bear upon it. 



Now for Natural Armour. 



There are so many examples of armour, as furnished by 

 Nature, that I can only mention a few. 



Any one who looks at a lobster, crayfish, prawn, or shrimp, 

 must at once see that in it lies the prototype of plate 

 armour. That portion of the lobster which is popularly called 

 the head, and is scientifically known as the " carapace," is not 

 jointed, and corresponds with the cuirass of ancient or modern 

 armour. Then comes the part called the " tail," the joints of 

 which are exactly like those employed in the shoulders, elbows, 

 knees, and ankles of ancient armour. The lobster tail will again 

 be mentioned in connection with another branch of human art. 



As for the heavy, ungraceful armour which was used in 

 tilting, we have an admirable example in the Trunk-fish of the 

 tropical seas (Ostracion), the whole of which is enclosed in a 

 bony case, the fins and tail protruding through openings in it. 

 In fact, the scales, instead of being separate, are fused together 

 so as to form a continuous covering. The Box-tortoise of 

 South America is another good example, the creature being 

 furnished with bony flaps with which it covers the apertures 

 through which the head, legs, and tail are protruded, and so is 

 as impervious as the knight of old. 



In the later ages of armour, the thighs, instead of being 

 enclosed in steel coverings with cuisses, were defended by a 

 number of steel plates called " tassets." Now these tassets are 

 exactly like the defensive armour of the Armadillo's back, and, 



