OllDEU IX. THE EDKXTATA. 317 



nor so frequently tlie case, as could bo dosireil. AVc liave often seen 

 tlic poor ox, wlien doing his Ijcst to move an over-ladcncd wagon, goaded, 

 kiekod, and beaten ■\vitii clubs in a nmst inhuman and barbarous man- 

 ner. Passing one day by the firm of a clergyman, not fu- from onr 

 residence, at that time in eastern ^lassacluisetts, tnu' attention was arrested 

 by a profusion of liorriblo oatlis, and the sound of heavy blows, in a 

 neighboring field. Approaching the wall, an<l looking over, what \\as 

 onr surprise to see tb.e clergyman in a state of peri'eet furv, with red and 

 swollen face, and blood-shot eyes, beating a pair of oxen over the head 

 with a heavy club, and swearing at them in the most ])rofane manner. 

 The abused animals bore nil patiently, oidv turning their large, expressive 

 eyes upon their persecutor as if in mild repmach. "We ventured to ex- 

 postulate ; but wc might as well lune ex[)ostulate(l with a tornado ; and 

 turned away with the conviction that those poor, ill-treated, uncomplaining 

 brutes were more worthy of innnortalitv and the rewards of paradise, promised 

 to the persecuted and heavy-laden, than that minister of religion, who had 

 suifered a de\i!ish passion to sink him fir below tb.e most degraded of " the 

 beasts that perish." Such scenes are always very painful to right-mintlcd 

 people, and we have often desired that the laws enacted to prevent cruelty to 

 animals might be more vigorously and faithfully enforced, and the societies 

 for the prevention of such outrages more vigilantly and efficiently discharge 

 their duties. 



ORDER IX. —THE EDENTATA. 



This order derives its name from the aljsenee of the front teeth. It em- 

 braces the Sloths, Ant-eaters, Armadillos, and the ^lanis, all of which have 

 large, hoof-like claws, or organizations ill-adapted to L)comotion, and, as a 

 consequence are of inactive dispositions. Except to the man of science they 

 are not a very interesting class of animals. They are represented by several 

 genera, which we will novv briefly introduce. 



Genus BiiADYrus. — The Sloths. They ha\c, as has been said, no front 

 teeth, but are supplied with cylindrical nudars and pointed canines ; their 

 arms are extremely long, and hind legs short, as is also the face. There 

 are several species, which diii'cr little in color and cither characters and habits. 

 The 13. triJacfijhis, the three-toed, and JJ. dnhicfi/lns, the two-toed sloth, 

 are best known. They are arboreal, living for the most part on trees, and 

 will not leave one until its vcrdui-e is completely devoured, when, urged by 

 hunger, the sloth will work his slow, and apparently painfid way, to another. 



Genus Dasypus. — The Armadillos. These animals are noted for a 

 strong, and bony covering, which clothes the upper part of the head, the 



