OR, PLAIN 



part of the hill, the ants are either driven out 

 or drowned by the first rain that falls. Indeed, 

 the best way of destroying a large ant-hill in 

 any country, is to lay it open by boring in the 

 same manner as is done by the armadillos 



The sloth, 4, is a quadruped of 

 most uncouth appearance. Its 

 fore legs are twice as long as the 

 posterior pair, and when walking 



4 



521. 



on the ground its actions are 

 most awkward and laborious. 

 Its natural mode of progression, 

 however, is by clinging to the 

 branches of trees, its body 

 hanging underneath them. The 

 inverted position of the feet, 

 5, gives it a power of grasping 

 the trunks of trees, which no 

 other animals possess. Its power- 

 ful claws, 6, and the strength of 

 its long arms, make very efficient 

 weapons of defence against the 

 large snakes by which it is fre- 

 quently attacked. Upon the 

 trees, sloths are quite active, and 

 in their suspended position they 

 crop the leaves and smaller 

 branches, of which they devour 

 a considerable quantity. 



Pachydermata — H. 



The term pachydermata is de- 

 rived from two Greek words, 

 signifying thick and skin, and 

 refers to the thickness of the hide, 

 which distinguishes the animals 



TEACHING. 181 



of this order, such as the rhino- 

 ceros, hippopotamus, elephant, hog, 

 &c. 



The hippopotamus is exclusively 

 a native of Africa. In noticing 

 this animal we are struck with 

 its ponderous head, 13, the enor- 

 mously thick lips, 14, the distended 

 nostrils and muzzle, 15, together 

 with the great tusks, 16 (which 

 are completely covered by the 

 thick lips, when the mouth is 

 closed), and between which are 

 the enormous incisor teeth. The 

 eyes and ears, 17, are small, and 

 are placed on the apex of a 

 curiously -formed head. Now 

 why are the eyes and ears thus 

 placed, and the orifices of the 



13 



522. 



nostrils embedded in a thick 

 moveable muzzle? Because, the 

 hippopotamus being of aquatic 



