QUADRUPEDS COVERED 



Of this animal, there is a variety which is call- 

 ed the Phatagin, much less than the former, be- 

 ing not above a foot long from the head to the 

 tail, with shells differently formed, with its belly, 

 breast, and throat covered with hair, instead of a 

 smooth skin as in the former ; but that by which 

 it is peculiarly distinguished is the extent of its 

 tail, which is above twice the length of its .body. 

 Both are found in the warm latitudes of the East, 

 as well as in Africa ; and, as their numbers are 

 but few, it is to be supposed their fecundity is 

 not great. 



THE ARMADILLO OR TATOU. 



HAVING mentioned quadrupeds of the ancient 

 continent covered with scales, we come next to 

 quadrupeds of the new continent covered with 

 shells. It would seem that nature had reserved 

 all the wonders of her power for these remote 

 and thinly inhabited countries, where the men 

 are savage, and the quadrupeds various. It 

 would seem that she becomes more extraordinary 

 in proportion as she retires from human inspec- 

 tion. But the real fact is, that wherever man- 

 kind are polished, or thickly planted, they soon 

 rid the earth of these odd and half-formed pro- 

 ductions, that in some measure encumber the 

 soil. They soon disappear in a cultivated coun- 

 try, and continue to exist only in those remote 



