THE JERBOA. 



wiping his head, he had pulled off and placed on the head 

 of his mastiff; and the dog, being thus conspicuously 

 situated, caught the eyes of Garric and of the other 

 performers. A mastiff in a churchwarden's wig (for the 

 butcher was a parish officer) was too much ! it would have 

 provoked laughter in Lear himself even at the moment of 

 his greatest distress." 



THE JERBOA. 



THIS animal, remarkable for the singular construction of 

 its legs, is found in Egypt, Barbary, and Palestine. It is 

 somewhat less than a Rat ; its head has a great resem- 

 blance to that of a Rabbit ; its eyes are large and full ; the 

 fore legs only one inch in length, and are used as hands to 

 convey victuals to its mouth ; the hind legs are naked, and 

 very much resemble those of a bird, having only three 

 toes on each, the middle one longest ; its tail is much 

 longer than its body, and terminates with a black tuft, the 

 tip of which is white; its hair is long and soft, of a reddish 

 colour on the back ; the under parts of the body are white ; 

 across the. thighs there is a large black band, in the form 

 of a crescent. 



The motions of the Jerboa are similar to those of the 

 Kangaroo. It goes forward very nimbly on its hind feet, 

 taking leaps of five or six feet from the ground. 



When pursued, it does not go straight forward, but turns 

 here and there till it gains a burrow, where it quickly 

 secretes itself. In leaping, it carries its tail stretched out ; 

 but in standing or walking, carries it in the form of an S, 

 tiie lower part touching the ground. 



THE GREAT ANT-EATER 



Is a native of Brazil and Guiana, and is nearly four feet in 

 length. It runs slowly, frequently swims over rivers, lives 

 wholly on anls, which it collects by thrusting its tongue 

 into their holes, and having penetrated every part of the 

 nest, withdraws it into its mouth loaded with prey. 



