ICOTHLESS ANIMALS. 245

the same plate with a cat and a dog. This hare would knock

a book out of its master’s hand to secure his attention.

The Common The Common Rabbit is found all over the

Rabbit. British Isles, as well as in France and Spain;
and in the north of Africa where it is indigenous. It is
smaller than the hare and lives in burrows, in large num-
bers, completely honey-combing sand hills which are covered
with grass and vegetation. Before producing her young, the
female forms a separate burrow where she conceals them
after birth. This is done to protect them from the male
who destroys, if he discovers them. The young are bom
blind and gain their sight after ten days. They are a month
old before they are allowed to leave the burrow.

ORDER XI, Curiously enough this order, though de-
Toothless DOminated toothless, includes several animals
Animals. which have well developed dental arrange-

ments. In these, however, the teeth are not found in the

front of the jaw, and those which are found are elementary
and simple. Several families are classified with this order, of
which the Sloth, the Pangolin, the Armadillo, the Cape Ant-

Bear, and the Ant-Eater are the best known representatives.

The Sloth. The Sloth belongs to South America. “In its

wild state,” says Waterton, “the Sloth spends its whole life in

the trees, and never leaves them but through force or acci-
dent, and, what is more extraordinary, not upon the branches,
like the squirrel and monkey, but under them. He moves
suspended from the branch, he rests suspended from the
branch, and he s/eeps suspended from the branch.” “In fact,”
says the Rev. J. G. Wood, “as Sydney Smith observes, he

passes a life of suspense, like a curate distantly related to a

Bishop. To render it fit for this singular mode of life, its

{ong and powerful arms are furnished with strong curved

claws, which hook round the branches, and keep the animal

suspended without any effort. When on the ground, these
claws are very inconvenient, and it can barely shuffle