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ANIMAL THAT WEARS ARMOR Of all the queer little people for whom Mother Nature lias found use in the great world there is none more queer than hardshell the armadillo Hardshell belongs to an old family In fact thtr are few who can trace their way back so far as can this little animal He belongs to an nnlir 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 All of them live in warm climates and hardshell the armadillo is the only one found in North America The ninebanded armadillo i found all the way from southern Texas and Ari ¬ zona through Mexico and Central America 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 pull himself into it and close the doors Hardshell the armadillo instead of having a house into which to retreat wears a suit of armor Even the top of his head and his tail are protected in this way Underneath he has no protection In this respect he is like prickly porky the porcupine and like prickly porky he can roll himself up so that he is wholly protected 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 way of running on the tips of his claws which are Ions He is a great digger He 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 a scavenger He is harmless to man but man is not altogether harmless to him for the natives consider him fine eating They roast him In his shell The shell is ornamental and is often used for making fancy baskets The Peoples Home Journal
