POUCHED QBADEUPEDS. 125 



the belly, which presents a white grainy skin, like that of a plucked 

 fowl ; and, in considering these parts with attention, you will per- 

 ceive the appearance of scales which are of the same substance as 

 the crust. This crust is, however, not of one piece, like that of 

 the turtle ; it consists of several parts, joined to each other by aa 

 many membranes, which put this armor in motion. The number 

 of these natural bands does not depend on the age of the animal; 

 for the young Armadillo and the adults have in the same species 

 the same number. Father d' Abbeville has distinguished six spe- 

 cies of the Armadillo, but the principal difference between them 

 consists in the number of bands or divisions in the armor of the 

 different species. The Six-banded Armadillo differs from its fel- 

 lows in being also of a smaller size, not larger than that of a young 

 pig, and in its tail being shorter. 



The Armadilloes in general are innocent, harmless animals ; 

 if they can penetrate into gardens, they will eat melons, potatoes, 

 pulse, and roots. Though used originally to the hot climates of A me- 

 rica, they live in temperate regions. There was one domesticated in 

 Languedoc, which was fed at home, and went everywhere without 

 doing any damage or mischief; they walk quickly, but they can 

 neither leap, run, nor climb up trees ; so they cannot escape by 

 flight : they have then no other resource but to hide themselves 

 in their holes, or if they are at too great a distance from their 

 subterraneous habitations, they contrive to dig one before they are 

 overcome ; for the mole is not more expert in digging the ground. 



POUCHED QUADRUPEDS. 



The most remarkable circumstance, with regard to the 

 Marsupial or Pouched Quadrupeds, is the premature birth of their 

 young, and the exceedingly unformed and imperfect state in which 

 they are brought into the world. They are incapable of motion, 

 and scarcely exhibit even the rudiments of limbs or other external 

 organs. Their mouth is simply a round orifice, without distinction 

 of parts ; but by means of it, they attach themselves to the nip- 

 ples of the mother, and there remain immovably fixed, deriving 

 their nourishment from them, and gradually improving, in shape 



11* 



