table matter, birds' eggs and young lizards, mice and snakes, while 

 regarding as a particular delicacy the carrion of some unfortunate 

 beast. This variety possesses more virtue than the description might 

 imply as it produces a quality of flesh so excellent as to cause the 

 chief motive for hunting the armadillo. 



This is another of the large class of animals who prefer dark- 

 ness to light for their travels abroad and, when we consider the 

 wild creatures of the tropics who are its natural enemies, we wonder 

 little at this manifestation of caution. In addition to the defense of 

 its covering and the swiftness with which it can excavate a place of 

 retreat from its pursuer, it is further endowed with a very acute 

 sense of hearing and with a rate of speed, for a short distance at 

 least, out of all keeping with its bulky and weighty frame. 



229 



