THE SPIKAL COLUMN OF QUADliCPEDS. 141 



aiitomatou-like : their legs seem to go by 

 machiuery, Avliicli uflfects no other part of the 

 body. No inflections of the spine accompany 

 the movements of the limbs. The two ex- 

 tremities of the vertebral colimin are not, 

 alternately raised and lowered as in the bound- 

 ing leopard ; but the back preserves its uni- 

 form level, however rapid may be the motion 

 of the limbs. It is from this circumstance 

 that the rapid movements of the armadillos in 

 the gardens of the Zoological Society of London 

 have never failed to excite surprise." Thus, 

 then, between the structure of the limbs and 

 that of the spine there is a beautiful accord- 

 ance, and, in fact, the observation may be ex- 

 tended, for no part of the animal framework is 

 independent of another. And hence it is that 

 a single bone of importance is, as it were, a key 

 to the rest of the framework. Guided by this 

 principle, the illustrious Cuvier undertook the 

 investigation of fossil relics, and, in numerous 

 instances, from the careful consideration of 

 two or three bones, pictured what the whole 

 must have been, with an accuracy which sub- 

 sequent discoveries have confirmed. This 

 mastership, however, is the residt of profound 

 study, of long research ; nevertheless, that a 



