McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1914-07-31
FEAR FEW ENEMIES
Animals Provided by Nature
With Means of Defense.
Hedgehog and Porcupine Are Notable
instances and Are Generally Re-
spected by Their Fellow Crea-
tures-The ArmadAlo.

the methods of attack and defense
adopted by some Of the lower orders
Of creation affords theme of more
than ordinary interest One meets
with some animals which simply invite
their nighbors to tread on their coat
tails, and those that accept the chal-
lenge are generally very sorry for
themselves afterward! Others have
the power of instantly converting
themselves into veritable Palace of
Peace" though the walls thereof, in
some cases, may bristle with bayo-
nets
The hedgehog and the porcupine af-
ford instances of this kind They are
feeble folk, dull-witted, slow-footed and
taciturn. Popular superstition would
have us believe that the hedgehog, at
any rate, is very devil of a fellow"
who will not only rob hen roosts, but
will levy a further tax on the far
mer by milking the cows. Poor, ma
ligned, misunderstood hedgehog! 1t
is true that he is guilty of petty theft
on occasion, but crime he can never
rise to.
Being of quaker-like disposition,
when danger threatens he simply re-
tires within himself, tucking his head
between his hind legs. Thus he auto
matically becomes sort of animated
pin cusion-the business" end of the
pins outward Nothing will induce him
to display further sign of hostility.
II The "fretful porcupine," when red
handed violence overtakes him, thrusts
his head between his forelegs and
turns his back on his enemy, as If I'M
willing to witness the pain he is about
to inflict. For when in this position
he presents most formidable and
dangerous armament Of spines as
sharp as needles and far stronger But
the porcupine is burly and often fat
Hence. to a hungry lion or tiger, eight
and twenty pounds of toothsome meat,
which tastes like veal" is worth a
few pin pricks; and he is according
ingly slain. Often, however, the bitter
Is indeed bitten, for lions have been
found with podcupine quilts stuck
through their cheeks or driven well
home into the foot. Dogs are often
blinded, or even killed, in making
similar ventures.
The spines, both of the hedgehog
and the porcupine, are nothing more
than excessively enlarged hairs, and
on the bodies of these animals every
graduation between hairs and spines
can be found. But in the two ami
mails now to be discussed the arma.
ture is of very different kind.
In the armadillo the body is in
vested in a coat of mail, formed by a
bony backshield, hinged across the
middle. and overlaid with horny
plates. The crown Of the head and
the tail are similarly protected. When
threatened during his walks abroad,
all this armored cruiser has to do is
to double itself up, so that his head
and tail come together and close the
only aperture left by this acrobatic
feat, The South American armadillo
has a cousin in Africa, the manis. In
this animal the body is protected by
cuirass of horny plates, formed of
agglutinated hairs. His mode of re.
pelling unwelcome advance is to bend
himself double and enwrap himself
with his tail Peaceful persuasion
must be long-sustained indeed before
it will prevail in inducing him to I'm.
fold.
But the manis has another method
Of escaping unwelcome attention. He
will grip the bole of tree with his
hind legs, and then, supported by his
tall, he will bend his body earthward
| till it makes right angle with the
tree. Thus posed he will remain mo.
tionless for hours. and look for all
world like the stump Of broken
branch!
The device of the armadillo has q
parallel in the tortoise. But here the
underestimate of the body is also pro.
tected by bony shield. 1t is not ne.
cessary, therefore, to double up the
body; the only apertures are closed
by the head and the fore legs and the
tail, whose surfaces are armored. But
In some Of the tortoises the back
shield Is hinged, SO that it can be
drawn downward to close the fortress
against invaders. In other species the
hinge is formed across the breast
| shield. but the effect is the same.