a fallen tree, perforated through and through by ants,--grinding the
papery partitions of the dry wood, licking in and chewing between its
wonderful cylinder teeth the whole mass into a black pulp!

"But lo! here are mightier creatures yet. See the vast mylodon, the
scelidothere, and the still more colossal megathere! Ponderous giants
these. The very forests seem to tremble under their stately stride.
Their immense bulk preponderates behind, terminating in a tail of
wonderful thickness and solidity. The head is mean, and awakens no
terror. The eye lacks lustre, and threatens no violence, though the
whole form betokens vast power; and the stout limbs are terminated by
the same thick, in-bent, sharp, hoofed claws. One of them approaches
that wide-spreading locust-tree. He gazes up at the huge mud-brown
structures that resemble hogsheads affixed to the forks of the branches,
and he knows that the luscious termites are filling them to overflowing.
His lips water at the tempting sight. Have them he must; but how?
That heavy stern-post of his was never made for climbing. Yet, see! he
rears himself up against the tree. Is he about to essay the scaling?
Not he. He knows his powers better. He gives it one embrace--one
strong hug, as if to test its thickness and hold upon the earth. Now he
is digging away below, scooping out the soft soil from between the
roots; and it is marvellous to note how rapidly he lays them bare with
those great shovel-like claws of his. Now he rears himself again;
straddles wide on his hind-feet, fixing the mighty claws deep in the
ground; plants himself firmly on his huge tail, as on the third foot of
a tripod, and once more grasps the tree. The enormous hind-quarters,
the limbs and the loins, the broad pelvis and thick spinal cord,
supplying abundant nervous energy to the swelling muscles inserted in
the ridged and keeled bones, all come into play as a _point d'appui_ for
the Herculean effort." [Gosse's "Natural History."]

"And now conceive the massive frame of the megathere convulsed with the
mighty wrestling, every vibrating fibre reacting upon its bony
attachments with the force of a hundred giants. Extraordinary must be
the strength and proportions of the tree if, when rocked to and fro to
right and left in such an embrace, it can long withstand the efforts of
its assailant. It yields! The roots fly up. The earth is scattered
wide upon the surrounding foliage. The tree comes