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ANIMAL THAT WEARS ARMOR Of all the queer little people for whom Mother Nature has found use in the great world there is none more queer than hardshell the armadillo Hardshell belongs to an did family ln fact there are few who can trace their way hack so far as can this little animal He belongs to an order called the Edentata which in turn is divided into three families armadillos ant eaters and sloths slothsSome Some of these animals are toothless and others are nearly so A1 of them live in warm climates and hardshell the armadillo is the only one found in North America The ninebanded armadillo is found all the way from southern Texas aud Ari ¬ zona through Mexico and Central A er ca down to Venezuela South America AmericaSlow Slow poke the box turtle as you know carries his house with him and in time of danger can piill himself into it and close the doors Hardshell the armadillo instead of having a house into which to retrear wears a suit of armor Even the ton of his head and his tail are protected in this way Underneath he has no nrpteetion I this respect he is like prickly porky the porcupine and like prickly norky he can roll himself up so that he is wholly Drotected The armor on the back of ar ¬ madillo the hardshell is in bands and is jointed jointedHardshell Hardshell is an exceedingly timid fellow and is not seen abroad during the daytime much He pre ¬ fers the night His legs are short but for a short distance he can run fast He has a funny VUy of running on the tips of his claws which are long He is a great digger lie can dig himself in faster than his enemies can dig after him His food con ¬ sists of worms ants snails beetles small lizards grasshoppers and other insects He eats some soft fruits and vegetable matter and is something of a scavenger He is harmless to man but man is not altogether harmless to him for the natives consider him Tine eating They roast him in his shell The shell is ornamental and is often used for making fancy baskets The Peoples Home Journal v
