The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-08-13
LOWER ANIMALS
EQUIPPED FOR WAR
Native Weapons of Attack and.
Defense Rival Those Devised
by Man

In these warlike times q survey OF
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 In
vite their neighbors TO tread on their
coat tails. and those that accept the
challenge 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 bay
onets.
The hedgehog and the porcupine az
ford instances Of this kind. They are
feeble folk. dull witted; slow-footed
and taciturn. Popular superstition
would have us believe that the hedge
hog, at any rate. is very devil OF a
fellow" who will not only rob hen
roosts, hut will levy q further tax on
the farmer by milking the cows.
Poor, maligned. misunderstood hedge
hog! II is true that he Is guilty Of
petty theft on occasion, but crime he
can never rise to.
Being of a Quaker-like disposition.
when danger threatens he simply re-
tires within himself, tucking his head
between his hind legs. Thus he auto
matically becomes a sort of animated
pin cushion-the "business" end or
the pins outward. Nothing will. then
induce him to display further sign
OF hostility.
The "fretful porpucine." when red
handed violence overtakes him,
thrusts his head between his forelegs
and turns his back on his enemy. as
II unwilling to witness the pain he Is
about to infiict. For when In this
position he presents most formid-
able and dangerous armament OF
spines as sharp as needles and far
stronger. But the porcupine Is burly,
and often fat. Hence. to hungry
lion or tiger, eight and twenty pounds
Of toothsome meat, which tastes like
veal" is worth few pin pricks; and
he is accordingly slain. Often, how
ever. the bitter Is indeed bitten. for
limos have been found with porcupine
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 animals
now to be discussed the armature Is
OF q very different kind.
In the armadillo the body Is in
vested In coat OF mail. formed by
q 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 acrofatic'
feat. The South American armadillo
has a cousin In Africa. the manis. In
this animal the body Is protected by
curiass OF horny plates, formed OF
agglutinated hairs. His mode Of re-
polling unwelcome advance Is to bend
himself double and enwrap himself
with his tail. Peaceful persuasion
must be long-sustained indeed before
fold.
Dut tuC Hdb 6uOthOI ln0bllOu
OF escaping unwelcome attention. He
will grip the bole of tree with his
hind legs, and then. supported by his
tail, he will bend his body earthward
till II makes right angle with the
tree. Thus posed he will remain mo-
tionless for hours, and look for all
the world like the stump of a broken
branch.
The defensme Of the armadillo has
parallel In the tortoise. But here
the undersurface Of the body Is also
protected by bony shield 1t IL not
necessary, therefore, to double up the
body; the only apertures are closed
by the head and fore legs and the
tail, whose surface are armored. But
in some of the tortoises the back
shield Is hinged, SO that II 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
New York American.